Perceived Sense of Safety for Children in Out-Of-Home Care Who Have Experienced Multiple Moves

University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange

Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School

5-2003

Perceived sense of safety for children in out-of-home care who have experienced multiple moves

Keith Allen Bailey

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Recommended Citation Bailey, Keith Allen, "Perceived sense of safety for children in out-of-home care who have experienced multiple moves. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2003. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/5103

This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council:

I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Keith Allen Bailey entitled "Perceived sense of safety for children in out-of-home care who have experienced multiple moves." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Human Ecology.

Cheryl Buehler, Major Professor

We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance:

Accepted for the Council:

Carolyn R. Hodges

Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School

(Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the GraduateCouncil:

I amsubmitting herewith a dissertation written by Keith Allen Bailey entitled "Perceived Sense of Safetyfor Children in Out-of-Home Care WhoHave ExperiencedMuhiple Moves." I haveexamined the finalpaper copy of this dissertationfor form and content andrecommend that itbe accepted in partialfulfillment of the requirements forthe degree of Doctorof Philosophy,with a majorin Human Ecology.

�hler, MajorProfessor

Accepted forthe Co

Vice Provost andDe Graduate Studies PERCEIVEDSENSE OF SAFETY FOR CHILDREN IN OUT-OF-HOME CARE

WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE MOVES

A Dissertation

Presented forthe

Doctor of Philosophy

Degree

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Keith Allen Bailey

May 2003 ii

This project is dedicated to the children and youth who must live in out-of-home care, with hopes that improvement i� their care will come as a result of listening to them voice

their needs and responding accordingly. lV

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My thanks is expressed to many people who supportedme in completing this project and the Ph.D. degree: the staffand youth at Holston United Methodist Home for

Children; and, my DoctoralCom mittee - Dr. Brian Barber, Dr. John Orme, Dr. Mick

Nordiquist, and especially Dr. Cheryl Buehler, my Major Professor, who gave guidance with great patience.

I am gratefulto my family, my fatherand mother, Charles and Joyce Bailey, who always encouraged me to pursue knowledge and to serve others, and to my children, . . Kaitlyn and Taylor, who are my true teachers of child development and parenting. My deepest gratitude, however, is offered to my wife, Angela, who has been understanding, longsuffering, and, most of all, supportiveas I pursued this proj�ct and degree. V

ABSTRACT

This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to·explore the sense of safety held by adolescent males in out-of-home care. The qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to come to understandtheir perception of their sense of safety, especially as it was related to moving multiple times between placements. Twelve adolescent males between the ages of 13 and 18 years were interviewedand asked how they experienced moving between placements and what made them feel safeor unsafein the process. Their responses were categorized into major themes that included: relating to caregivers, gaining information, adapting, beh�vior of other youth, family issues, and types of moves. Implications for practice arediscussed related to the youths' responses.

The quantitative portionof the study consisted of establishing the reliability and validity of the Sense of Safety Scale (SOSS), which was developed by the researcher.

This scale, designed to assess the physical and psychoemotional sense of safetyof youth in out-of-home care, was administered to 90 adolescent males, between the ages of 12 and 18 years, who were in variouslevels of fostercare placement, with the majority being in residential care. The SOSS was foundto have a high internalconsistency with this sample. It also was found to have significantcorrelations with established scales that measured self-esteem, locus of control, and internalizingproblem behavior, thus establishing constructvalidity. Vl TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

I. Introduction ...... 1

II. Literature Review ...... · ...... · ... 4

Permanency Issues ...... 4

Definition ...... 4

Federal Legislation and Practice ...... 4

Lawsuits ...... 8

Research on Multiple Moves Between Placement� ...... : .....10

Number of Moves ...... 10

Outcomes ofMultiple Moves ...... ··.· ...... 12

Sense of Safety ...... 15

Lack of Research on Safety in Permanency Literature ...... 15

Child Development Theories Related to Safety ...... 16

Safety and identity fo�ation ...... 17

Attachmenttheory ...... 19

Developmental issues of fosterchildren ...... 21

Safetyin Therapy ...... : ...... 23

Safety forChildren in Care ...... , ...... 24

ResearchRelated to the Unique Sample ...... 25

III. . Qualitative Study ...... :...... 28

Paradigmatic Perspective ...... 28

Role of the Researcher ...... 29 Vll Bracketing Statement ...... _-...... 3 0

Method ...... 33

Sample ...... _ ...... 33

Human Subjects Approval ...... � ...... ·...... 34 InterviewMethodology ...... 3 5

�ata .Analysis . : ...... -...... ·...... � ...... 37

Findings ...... ♦- ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ; � •••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••• 40

Descriptions ofMoving ...... · ...... 40

Family Issues ...... : ...... 40

"Good" Moves vs. �'Bad" Moves ...... 42

Safety ...... ·...... 43

. Relationships with and roles of caregivers ... : ...... 43

Needing information ...... : ...... 46

Watching and waiting· ...... · ..... 48

Friends ...... 49

Negative behavior of other youth ...... '...... · 50

Adapting ...... · ...... 51

Choices and control ... : ...... 51

Helping Other Youth Move In andMove Out ...... 53

One Finaf-Statement ...... 54

Discussion ...... 54

Safety ...... 57

Need forinformation ...... 59 Vlll Limitations ...... 61

Implications forPractice ...... 63

IV. Quantit�tive Study ...... 70

Pilot Study ...... · ...... 70

Development of the Sense of SafetyScale ...... 71

Pilot Study Sample Characteristics ...... 74

Data on SOSS from Pilot Study ...... 76

Second Wave Data Collection ...... 76

Method ...... 76

Human subjects approval ...... 76

Data collection and storage ...... 76

Sample characteristics ...... 77

Overall Sample Characteristics ...... 78

Scales ...... 79

Self-esteem ...... 79

Locus of control ...... 81

Behavior problems ...... 83 ,- Semantic differential ...... 87

Background Variables ...... ·...... 88 Age ...... : 89

Race ...... : ...... 89

Number of moves ...... : ...... : ...... 89

Days at present placement ...... 89 IX Present level of care ...... '...... 90

Findings ...... 90

Scale Distributions ...... , ...... 90 soss ...... ··························· 90 .. Other variables and scales ...... 92

Missing data ...... ·...... ·.... 92

Discussion ...... - ...... 94

Comparison to Other Studies Using the Established Instruments ... 94

SES .... .· .-: ...... 94

CNSIE.·: : ...... ·...... 94

YSR - Internalizingand externalizingdomains ...... 95

Reliability and Validity ...... 95

Use of the SOSS ...... -:- ...... 98

Limitations ..... • ...... 99

Need forMore Research ...... · ...... 100

V. ·Summary ...... ; ...... : ...... 101

References ...... 102

Appendices ...... •..... _...... 111

Appendix A: InformedAssent and Parental/GuardianConsent Forms ....112

Appendix 11:· Approval Letters ...... : ...... 116 Appendix C: Discussion_ Guide ...... 125

-< AppendixD: Transcripts ...... ; ...... : ...... 127

Appendix E: Meaning Units ...... 247 X Appendix F: Themes ...... 301

Appendix G: Instruments...... 3 05

Vita � ...... 318 Xl

LIST OF TABLES

Table Title Page

1. �er cent Agreementon Sense of Safety Scale ...... 73

2. Comparison of Background Variables ...... 75

3. Scale Means, Distributions, and Reliabilities ...... •...... 91

4. Correlations Among BackgroundVariables and Scales ...... · ...... 93

5. Comparison of Means on Raw Scores and Reliabilities Between this

Study and Achenbach's ...... ·...... 95 1 I. Introduction

There are over half a million children residing in out-of-home placements who are in the care of state andprivate agencies (AFCARSReport, ·2001 ). These children are placed in out-of-home care fora variety of reasons, including abuse and neglect in the home, delinquency and other criminal charges, the death of their parents, the surrendering of parental rights, and forthe treatment of emotional, behavioral, and mental health problems. While in care, the child-care system is supposed to provide a safe, nurturing, and therapeutic environment for these children. Such an environment should allow them to heal fromany traumas they have experienced and cope with the str�sses of being away fromtheir homes. It also is a time when the families of these children can seek resources and guidance with which to ereate. a safe and nurturing home environment to which children can return:

During the last half-centurywithin the United States, a growing body of . . legislative mandateshave requ�ed a standard of services provided forchildren in out-of home care. One issue that has come to the foreof these legislative standards is permanency planning forchildren in care. In brief, permanency planning seeks to find . .

stable and long-term placements' for children by placing. them in foster care, placing them foradoption, or by returningthe children to their homes with professional support and resources.

Although the fostercare system oftenis the best alternative formany of these children and families, there are inherent problems. One of these problems is the practice· of moving children multiple times between placements. Whilein out-of-home care foras littleas a fewdays or foras long as several years, children might experience several 2 placements. This practice could compromise the essential nature of this safe, nurturing, and therapeutic environment that is designed to give children a legal and psychological sense _of permanence. Partof feeling a sense of permanence is feelinga sense of safety.

In this study, the concept of"sense of safety" for children in out-of-home care is defined as a sense of psychoemotional and physical safetythat is held both globally and in relating to specific people, places, and situations while in an out-of-home care setting.

This sense of safety in children is necessaryfor optimal developmental progress and is dependent upon trust in caregivers (Erikson, 1968; Maslow, 1970). It also is necessary for successful therapeutic progress (Rappaport, 1997). Thus meeting the developmental and therapeutic needs of children in out-of-home care by providing fortheir physical and emotional safety is critical.

Although moving while in care has important development and therapeutic implications, there is little empirical data available that helps us understand the impact of multiple moves on children in care and children's resulting sense of safety (or lack of it).

In the field of foster care, it is agreed upon that moving children multiple times is not sound practice, however, moving does occur ( sometimes unwanted or unneeded) and yet there is no current research on children's perceptions of moving. Research conducted with children in out-of-home care who have been moved multiple times between placements could provide more insight into the social and psychological significance of the impact of these moves, and more specifically, could explore the sense of safetythat children feel when they experience multiple moves.

I I The greatest implication for more research on this topic is in its application to policy and practice. Staffand Fein (1995) suggested that much of the practice of social 3 work with children is concerned "with change - preparing children fora move, implementing the change, and dealing with the results of the ensuing placement" (p. 386).

An understanding of how such change impacts children and howto train professionals who prepare children, families, caregivers, and agencies forchange would ultimately provide a smoother transition between placements andbuff er some of the potential negative consequences of such transitions.

This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect information on how adolescent children experience multiple relocations andon their perceived sense of safetywhile in out-of-home care. A qualitative approach fromthe phenomenological tradition was used to examine the-youth's experiences fromtheir unique perspectives. In addition, a quantitative· approacp :wasemployed to furtherestablish the reliability and validity of the Sense of Safety Scale (SOSS), which was designed to measure the sense of physical and psychoemotional safety of children who are in out-of-home care. Research on the effects of moving has been hampered by a lack of good measures of children's perceptions of safetywhen they are moved. Informationgained fromthe qualitative· study was used to assess the content validity of the SOSS. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies for assessing children's experiences of multiple relocations andtheir perceived sense of safetyallows fora triangulated approach to data collection that strengthens the validity of the findings (Brewer & Hunter; 1989; Denzin, 1978).

Using both methodologies gives a greaterbreadth and depth of informationon sense of safety, especially as it relates to safety and moving. 4 II. Literature Rev:iew

Permanency Issues

Definition

To betterunderstand the importanceof children remaining in a continuous, stable, and safe environment while in out-of-home care, it is essential to consider the role of permanency planning as a part of that care. Permanencyplanning has been definedas:

The systematic process of carryingout, within a brief time-limited period, a set of goal directed activities designed to help children live in familiesthat offer continuity of relationships with nurturingparents or caregiversand the opportunityto establish lifetime relationships. (Maluccio & F�in, 1985)

The goals of permanency planning are: "(1) [p]rotecting the health and safetyof the child, (2) establishing ( or reinforcing)a set of stable nurturingrelationships between the child and parents or parent surrogates, (3) preservingthe biological family, and, (4) enha_ncing the psychosocial and behavioral adjustment of the child" (Seltzer &

Bloksberg, 1987). Furthermore, givingchildren a sense of continuity of relationships, a sense of belonging and stability, and a definitelegal, social, and psychological status in a long-term family setting is the ultimate aim of permanency planning(Maluccio, Fein,

Hamilton, Ward & Sutton , 1982;· Seltzer & aloksberg, 1987).

Federal Legislation and Practice

Over the past 30 years, a series of legislative actions propelled the issue of permanency planning into the forefront of both the philosophical foundation and practice of caring forchildren in out-of home care. Maluccio, Abramczy� and Thomlinson

(1996) summari.,?:edsome of the major legislative movements in this area. According to these authors,. in the 1960's and 1970's, permanency planning was not a major focus of 5 the planningfor children in out-of-home care. Due to the identificationof the "battered child syndrome" in 1961, the major focusof social service� forchildren was the investigation of child abuse reports. In 1974, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment

Act (CAPTA) (Public Law (P.L.) 93-247) was passed to aid state programsin the protectionof children fromabuse and neglect. Because of this, the "child rescue philosophypervaded the legislation, practice, and public sentiment" of the 1970's

(Maluccio,Abramczyk, et al., 1996, p. 291). Thus more children than ever came into out-of -home care, experienced multiple placements, and lingered in the fostercare system (Maluccio, Abramczyk, et al., 1996). This experience of"ling�ring" in care often has been termeddrift, which can be conceptualized as children living away fromtheir

�amilies, experiencing repeated moves, and having little o_r no sense of stability or continuity in their living arrangements(Fein & Maluccio, 1984; Jimenez 1990;

Maluccio, Fein, et al., 1982).

As a result of seeing too .many children adriftin the system of care, another law, the Adoption Assistance and Child WelfareAct (AACWA)(P.L. 96-272) was passed in

1980 to prevent the unnecessary separation of children fromfamilies. This legislation, which was based on the importance of attachmentto a primary·caretaker, focused on children's need forstability and continiiity, through permanency planning by emphasizing prevention, reunificationwith families-of-origin,. adoption, and independent living programs (Maluccio,Abramczyk, et al., 1996). Due to this, the numbers of children in out-of-home c�e dropped by a quarter of a million (from502,000 to 273,000) by 1982 (Maluccio,Abramczyk, ·et al., 1996). Some argued, however, that reunification was sometimes done at the expense of children's safety(Wright, 2001)' 6 These two legislative movements created a conflict of policy and practice in child

welfarework. CAPTA called forprofessional intervention in the lives of abused children

and t�oubled familieswhereas the AACWA protected the children and their familiesfrom

policies that undermined the authority of parents to care fortheir own children (Jimenez,

1990; Maluccio, Abramczyk, et al., 1996). There were other controversies as well.

Some outcome studies foundthat permanency plans created a higher rate of stability for

children in adoptive homes than in their homes of origin (Seltzer & Bloksberg, 1987) and

that a significantnumber of children who were reunified with a birth parent re-entered the

fostercare system (Jimenez, 1990). However, other studies suggested_ that children who

grew up in out-of-home care did not suffer any short- or long-term, adverse effects in

"adjustment" by that experience (Maluccio & Fein, 1985).

In the midst of welfare agencies wrestling to find the best plan of care forchildren

in lightof these contradictory findings, children and familiesin America were living in a

more complex and difficultsocial and economic climate, which furthercomplicated policy making. There were increases in the number of people who experienced poverty, homelessness, substanceabu se, IDV/AIDS, violence, and teen-age pregnancy, all of which contributed to the number of children in care risingto 442,000by 1992 (Maluccio,

Abramczyk, et al., 1996). Also, more children entering care dudng this time did so with complex problems: more emotional and behavioral problems were exhibited, more children were medically fragile, more had familyhistories of substance abuse and

IDV/AIDS, and more tended to be either very young or adolescents (see Maluccio,

Abramczyk, et al ., 1996). Thus, the lengthof time in care incre�sed, and it was found 7 that reunificationand permanency issues forchildren in care were not being reached

quickly enough (Maluccio, Abramczyk, et al., 1996) .

. The Family Preservation and Support Services Act (FPSSA) (P.L. 103-66) was passed in 1993 to address the challenges facing at-risk children and familiesand the

agencies and programs that were to intervene and provide services. The focusof this act was on family preservation. Its goal was to assist familieswho were at risk of having their children placed in out-of-home care by creating a safer,more nurturing and stable home environment. It also provided forreunification services to families who had children returningfrom out-of-home care (Maluccio, Abramczyk, et �-, 1996).

Undergirding this act was a greater understanding of the role of the familyin child development, the need forlife-long connections, and the ecological influencesof community support systems available to families(Malu ccio, Abramczyk, et al., 1996).

Keeping families together was the ultimate goal ofFPSSA. However, keeping familiestogether at the expense of children's safetywas a growing concern. In response to this concern, the Adoption and_Safe Families Act (ASF A) (P.L. 105-89) was passed in

1997 as a clear statement that child safetywas to be the primary issue addressed in family preservation and reunificationplanning (Wright, 2001 ). It also �eemphasized . , permanency planningby settingnew timelines forsuch plans to be put into place. A critique of this act, however, was that parental rights might be- terminated too quickly in order to bring about a permanency plan when familyreunification is not deemed possible

(Wright, 2001). Yet, another Federal Act signed in 2002, Promoting Safeand Stable

Families (PSSF) (P.L. 107- 133). reifiedthe practices of supporting familypreservation, reunifying children in out-of-home care with their families in a timely manner, and 8 promoting and supporting adoptions when reunification was not feasible (Gerstenzang,

2002).

Lawsuits

Althoughfederal legislation has made great strides in presenting a philosophical

foundationand practice guidelines forbetter meeting the needs of children in out-of

home care, there were many children's rights advocates who believed that the state and

local child welfare programshad not responded quickly nor adequately to children's needs. In addition to the federalacts that influencedpermanency planning and practice in

child welfare work, a rash of lawsuits against state and local child welfare programs

recently were filedon behalf of childrenwho lived in the fostercare system. The goals

of the suits were to change the actual practices of caringfor children in out-of-home placements on a state-by-state, suit-by-suit, basis. There have been more than a dozen

suits filedagainst state and local children's welfare programsin the past decade. These include suits in Connecticut (Juan F. vs. Rowland), District of Columbia (LaShawn vs.

Williams), Florida (Bonnie L. vs. Bush), Kansas (Sheila A. vs. Whiteman), Missouri (G.L. vs. Stang/er), New Jersey (Charlie and Nadine H vs. Mc Greevey), New Mexico(J oseph and Josephine A. vs. New Mexico Children, Youth and FamiliesDe partment), New York

City (Marisol vs. Giuliani, and Je remy M and JoanneM vs. Giuliani), Tennessee (Brian

A. vs. Sundquist), and Wisconsin (Jeanine B. vs. Thompson) (see Children's Rights, Case

Updates, 2002).

In Tennessee's case of Brian A. et al. vs. Donald Sundquist et al. (Civil Action

. No. 3-00-0445), a groupof children who resided in the care systems provided by

Tennessee's Departmentof Children's Services, withthe aid of a child advocacygroup, 9 filed a class action lawsuit against the State and the commi�sioner of Children's Services alleging abusive situations and the mishandling of their cases. A settlement agreement was reached between the plaintiffs and the State. Several of the fourteenprinciples of the • settlementagreement of this case have to do with permanency issues and safety issues.

These include:

1. All children should have the best possible opportunity to grow up within-a safe, nurturing family, either their biological family or, if that is not possible, within an adoptive family. 2. The state should make reasonable efforts to avoid foster care placements by providing serviceto preservethe biological fam ily whenever that is reasonably possible. However, child welfare decision-makers must have the professionalcapacity to make determinations as to when making efforts to preserve the b1ological family, or leaving the child with that family, is neither safe forthe child nor likely to lead to an appropriate result forthe child. 3. After· children enter placement, all non-destructivefamily ties should be maintained and nurtured. Children should be placed with relatives who are able to provide a safe,nurturing home forthem, and should be placed with siblings, and relationslnpswith relatives and siblings should be facilitated and maintained by the child welfareagency. 4. Foster care should b�_as temporary an arrangement as possible, with its goal being to provide a permanent home for the child as quickly as possible. In making the determination about what plans and service will best meet this goal, the child's interests must be paramount. 5. The state has primary responsibility forthe care and protection of children who enter the fostercare system. . .. 7. Children in foster care placement should be in the least restrictive, most family-likesetting possible, and the state should make all efforts to avoid the use of non-family settings forchildren, particularly young children. 8. Children in fostercare placement should have stable placements that meet their needs and the service necessary to address both the trauma of fostercare placement and the problems surroundingtheir removal fromthej.r family. 9. Children in out-of home placementmust have timely decision-making about where and with whom they will spend their childhood, and timely implementation of whatever decisions have been made. 10. Families of children in foster careshould be significant participants in the planning and decision-making concerning their children. 10 11. The state should achievethese goals in a familyenvi ronment whenever possible, separating the child from the child's parents only when necessary for the child's welfareor in the interest of the child's safety, keeping the child as close to home as possible. (Civi l Action No. 3-00-0445)

This settlement incorporated a many of the principles emphasized in the earlier national legislative pieces. . Based upon these pr�nciples, the settlement agreement set graduated, specific timelines and indicators on placements, planning, caseloads, and

outcomes. Although there are several stringent outcome goals related to placement

stability and fami ly visitation that are in the best interest of the children, there are no outcomes named that assess child adjustment factors, per se.

Specificallyrelating to multiple moves between placements, the settlement ultimately calls for85% of children to be placed in no more than three placements,

excluding those that arerelated to runaways, emergency hospitalization, warranted behavioral asses�ment, and safetyconcerns. This will be a radical departure fromthe current practice of moving chi ldren between placements. Backgrounddata collected for - ' the current study foundthat the average number of placements for a group of 90 adolescent males in out-of-home care in Tennessee (the majority of whom were·in residential care) was slightly more that} nine (see below).

Research on Multiple Moves Between PlacementsI

Number of Moves

Researchprovides inconsistent estimates regardingthe average number of placements children experience while in out-of-home care. One study conducted by

Olsen (1982) found that the average number of moves fo r the children in family foster 11 care was 3, with a range of 1 to 21. Maluccio and Fein (1985), in a review of 12 studies on the impact of growing up in foster care, founda wide range in reports of the number of pla�ements experienced by the·subjects of the respective studies. These ranges included 1-4, 3-6, 1-12, 2 or more, and the average number of placements reported included 3, 5, and 5.6.

Information collected from a focus group conducted by this researcher with 19 adolescent males who were in residential treatment or family fostercare indicated that the youth experienced an average of 9. 5 moves, with a range of 2 to 3 5. This followsmore closely with Ta�er and Proch's (1987) study of a sample of 51 youth in out-of-home care who had experienced an average of 9 moves with a range of 1 to 3 3.

Most of these studies used the children's case histories to determine the average number of placements. However, a study of 447 case histories of children in Child

Protective Servicesin Florida foundthat some placements that children experienced were not recorded in their case histories (Rittner, 1995). This researcher foundthe same to be true in a review of 60 case filesof adolescent males in various levels of care in

Tennessee, with shorter stays in non-treatment related programsless likely to be recorded when compared with the youth self-reports (Bailey, 2001). The moves that children experience while in formalizedout-of -home care, however, may.not account for all the moves they experience away. Even beforebeing taken into protective custody and placed in care, some children experience multiple moves within kinship networks (Rittner,

1995). The number of placements as reported in the studies cited above, then, may under-represent the actuaLnumber of placements that children have·had while in care. 12 Outcomes of Multiple Moves

Several studies have assessed placement stability and placement permanency . . issues. related to children in out-of-home care in order to analyzethe factorsthat contribute to the movement between placements (Fein, Davies, & Knight, 1979; Fein,

Maluccio, Hamilton, & Ward, 1983; Lahti, 1982; Olsen, 1982; Palmer, 1979; Pardeck,

1984; Staff& Fein, 1995; Tabor & Proch, 1987). Although information gained from these studies can help us explain why children in out-of-home care might be moved, there is little information on the impact of these moves on children.

Maluccio and Fein (1985) reviewed studies that assessed the oyerall impact of being in fostercare. Three of these studies foundthat children in fostercare were not significantly different in adjustment fromchildren who were not in foster care. These studies concluded that there was no short- nor long-termnegative impact caused by being in foster care. However, Maluccio and Fein cautioned that these studies should be examined in th� context of the "considerable stability" of the placements of the subjects,

' . who had a degree of stability in out-of-home care that is not typical of children more recently in fostercare. In one study, it was indicated that the adult subjects studiedhad spent most of their time in a stable foster care placement. Another studywas with adult subjects who, as children, spent 7-15 years in their final placements with the same foster families. Aut4ors of the third study, qualifiedtheir findingsby stating, "However, we feelthat our measures of adjustment are not without problems, and we are not sure that our procedures have captured the potential feelings of pain and impaired self-image that can be created by impermanent status in foster care" (Maluccio & Fein, 1985, p. 479). 13 Lahti (1982), in a programev �luation study of services provided to foster children under the age of 12, foundthat number of placements and time in care did not negatively effect the children's sense of well-being. This study, though, had a limited scope in how

"number of placements" was assessed. Althoughthis study did not specifywhat it meant by "foster care," it appears that the study was conducted with subjects who resided in familyfoster homes, and the only movement that was tracked duringthe study was that of changing from one foster home to another and moving froma foster home to a permanent home. Although number of moves did not significantly correlate with well being, the author foundthat "a sense of permanency" was relate_d posi�ively to a higher sense of well-being. Bailey (2001) failedto findany statistically significant relationships between the number of moves that adolescent males experienced while in out-of-home care and their self-esteem, locus of control, sense of safety, and behavioral problems.

Similar quantitative studies also failedto supportthe link betweenthe number of moves

(or placements) a child experiences while in out-of-home care and indicatorsof child adjustment. Proch and Tabor's (1985) review of the literature on placement disruption cited fourstu dies in which there were no statistically significant ·relationships found between number of placements and measures of well-being and social behavior. Two of these studies, however, included qualitative interviews of adults who had been in out-of home care as chil_dren. In these studies, the subjects reflectedupon the multiple moves as being painful and unsettling.

Contrary to the findings discussed above, studies of children who have experienced moves because their families' occupationsacknowledge that relocations are stressfulfor children, in general (Donohue& Gullotta, 1983; Newcomb, Huba, & 14 Bentler, 198 1, 1986; Raviv, Keinan, Abazon, & Raviv, 1990; Vernberg, Ewell, Beery,

& Abwe�der, 1994). (It should be noted, however, that unlike children who move due to

the occupational changes of their parents, children in out-of-home care do not have their

familieswith them as they move between placements and thus cjonot have the immediate

support of their families to rely upon in this situation.) Other studies of children in out

of-home care have found how multiple moves between placements negatively impact

these children in the areas of emotional functioning, mastering developmental tas�s,

achieving permanency goals, and developing a sense of belonging to their families (Fein,

· Davies, & Knight, 1979; Fein, Maluccio, et al., 1983; Tabor & Proch,_ 1987).

Overall, empirical research has found little evidence that multiple moves ·

negatively impact children in care, or the findingsare contradictory, at best. Such

findings, however, are counter-intuitive formany who work in the fieldof child foster

care. The problem in gaining accurate information on this issue could lie in

· methodological issues that may impede the process of gaining accurate information on

the complexity of moving children while in careand child outcomes. Developmental

theory and therapeutic ideologies hold that such a practice can be detrimental to

children's development and social adjustment. Informationfrom these disciplines could

help to betterinf orm measurement issues when conducting research. The remainder of

the review will explore orilyone issue related to the experience of multiple moves while

in out-of-home care, namely, children's sense of safety. 15 Sense of Safety

Lack of Research on Safety in Permenancy Literature

. Althoughthe safety of children has been the focus of the latterpermanency planning legislations and the principles of the Brian A. settlement in Tennessee, there are few recent studies that examine the issue of safetyin a comprehensive manner. In a review of research available up to 1986, Seltzer and Bloksberg (1987) foundthat none of the studies they reviewed identifiedthe safety of the child as a primaryoutcome to be examined. In the recent AFCARS sponsored study, the National Survey of Child and

Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), 46 state-level administrators who �ere interviewed stated that the ASF A legislation had helped to create better practices regarding child safety, including an increase in staffaware ness of child safetyneeds and planningba sed upon safetyissues (AFCARS, NSCAW Local Child Welfare Agency Survey Report,

2002). However, what was meant by "child safety" was not definedand specific practices related to safety were not explained.

Often,ab use and neglect.rates have been used as indicators of safetyand well being forchildren, and clearly furtherphysical, sexual, or psychoemotional maltreatment is a central concern. However, national data on the abuse rates of children in foster care are incomplete and not consistent between states ( see AFCARS Report, Child Welfare

Outcomes, 1999). A review ofBa rth's examination of the differences between child outcomes in institutions and foster homes indicated conflictedfindings about the rate of abuse and neglect while in care. One study showed that the rates were six times higher in institutional care whereas another foundthat such abuse was about half as common in 16 institutions and group homes when compared to familyfoster care (Freundlich & Meyer,

2002).

In one of the fewempirical studies to deal with the issue of child safety in foster homes, Berrick (1997), in assessing the quality of kinship and family foster care placements, made a cursory exploration of the safety of the physical environment of 62 homes where children were placed. However, only the fosterparents were asked about their own sense of physical safetyin the homes in this study.

There are, however, no known studies that examine the concept of psychological and emotional safetyin the broader spectrum of safetyissues for children. Understanding the safety issues of children in out-of-home care, then, will need to come from general developmental theory and fromthe literature on therapeutic intervention.

Child Development Theories Related to Safety

Maslow's (1970) theoretical model of human needs and motivation holds that human beings must have physiological needs and then safety needs met, respectively, if they are to progr�ss up the hierarchy of needs to self-actualization. Gnagey (1980), working fromMaslow 's theory, examined changes in student motivational structure during adolescence and found that the students sampled rated safety needs beforethose of physiological needs. The focus of this' study and ofMaslow's theory, however, is primarily based µpon examining physical safety. Although the physical safety of • • � I children' s care environments and their sense of physical safetyare important, their sense of psychoemotional safety also is critical. The psychoemotional sense of safety is addressed in Erikson's th�ory of human development and explicated to a greater degree by Bowlby' s attachment theory. 17 Safety and identityforination. Erikson's (1968) theoryof human development asserted that all the tasks and crises of the developmental process are present in all stages of lif�. However, it is in specificphases that unique development tasks are manifested as · the main crises of development to be negotiated in that stage. The firstcr isis that humans must work through in their development is learning whether or not they can trust their caregivers to meet their basic needs. This development of trust( or lack thereof) can be related to the degree of safetythat children feel about their caregivers and their caregiving environment. This sense of trust or mistrust, then is carried with them throughout their developmental process and plays a partin their identi�y formation.

Erikson held that it was during adolescence that the primary task of development was the searchfor identity . This search foridentity is a combination of adolescents' intra-psychic development and their sorting through the role identificationsand perceived role expectations that have been presented to them by the significant people in the surrounding culture . However, the culture can present the developing child with negative role models and expectations rather than with positive ones. Children who have been raised in an environment of abuse and/or neglect can observe and internalize negative messages within their environment and adopt those identifications as they base their individual identities upon them. Such a synthesis of negative identity traits,Eri kson believed, could lead to the identity of "delinquency." He explained that the youth who develop along this negative trajectory actually"foreclose" on this negative identity and accept as the essence of their being the identity that their community has given them.

Erikson (1968) furtherbelieved that youth who manifestdelinquent identity behavior have "a mistrust of themselves, a disbelief in the possibility that they could ever 18 complete anything of value" (p.185). This relates back to his theoryon the earliest stage of human development where infants are developing the capability to "hope" based upon being able to trusttheir primary caregivers. If their needs are not met adequately, then . . they do not develop the capacity to trust others or themselves.

Erikson also suggested that children who have suffered trauma during critical stages of development, including early adolescence, who are deemed to have psychopathology, and who are in treatment can develop the negative identity of the

"patient." One factor to which Erikson attributes such trauma is being separated from home. Erikson stated that this negative identity is "an identity perversely based on all those identifications and roles which, at critical stages of development, had been presented to them as most undesirable or dangerousand yet also as most real" (p. 174).

In supportof Erikson's theory, a qualitative study of the impact of fostercare related to adolescent identity development was conducted by Kools (19 97), who interviewed 17 youth in foster care. All the youth were of minority racial status who had stayed in fostercare between 2 and 11 years (m = 5. 7) and had experienced an average of

2 - 8 placements (m = 4.1). In the analysis of these interviews, it was found that the youth feltstigmatized for being in foster care and thus devalued, which resulted in them devaluing themselves: They had lower self-esteem, lower self-confidence, a lack of family connection and futureorientation, and felt socially isolated.

Erikson (1968) alsodiscussed the need forchildren to have autonomy and their need to develop their "will" as a crucial aspect of identity formation. This autonomy is important not only in early development (Erikson's second stage of development - autonomy vs. shame anddoubt ) but this need forautonomy also is revisited and

·- . 19 reasserted during adolescence. In relating this to children in out-of-home care, such children often are not in control of the events of their lives andthus can feel no sense of autonomy. Experiencing "repeated unanticipated moves" over which they have no control can add to their sense of feeling that they have little control, autonomy, or security in their lives (M cDermott,19 87; Zimmerman, 1988).

Such moves also can create confusion forthe children by giving them inconsistent messages about whether they are acceptable and what is expected of them (McDermott,

1987). Coming into care generally is seen as a "negative" by a child. Subsequent moves while in care al so are ofteninterpreted by them as "negatives," as well. McDermott explained:

The lack :of consistent, affirming,and confirmingmessages impacts the sense of identity fora child in care .... For children who have been placed, the worstfear of childhood has been realized. They have lost a parent and, often alone, with little or no emotional support, they must endure and survive their loss. For many youth who enter care, considerable ambiguity exists about where their family allegiance belongs. They are caug ht in a cycle of separation and loss that affe cts they way they view themselves, their family relationships, and their futures. Asthey enter and move through adolescence, these issues are compounded. When it comes time to do the work of separating from family, in order to achieve both anindependent and an interdependent identity, they have no family from whom to separate (p.252 & 245).

Such a lack of trust, autonomy, and consistency, along with the resulting negative identity that can develop, can lead children to believe that their caretakers, their world, andeven they themselves are unsafe. Such attributions are potentially detrimental to healthy development for children in out-of-home care.

. , Attachment theory. This potential lack of trust and subsequent insecurity that

Erikson described is furtherexplored in Bowlby's (1969, 1973) theory of the dynamics of attachment and loss. Interpersonal attachment has been described as the primary goal of 20 development (Florsheim, Henry & Benjamin, 1996). Bowlby (1977) defined attachment

as being "the propensity of human beings to make strong affectional bonds to particular

others" and as being a way of "explaining the many forms of emotional distress and personality disturbance ... to which unwilling separation and loss give rise" (p.201 ).

Children develop internalizedworking models of self an� others based upon whether or not attachment figuresare "j udged to be the sort of person who in general responds to calls for support and protection; [and] whether or not the self is judged to be

the sort of person towards whom anyone, and the attachment figurein particular, is likely to respond in a helpfulway" (Bowlby, 1973, p. 238). In short, these working models of attachmentare based upon children's experiences of being "cared for, responded to, and protectedby the primary attachment figure(s)" (Florsheim, Henry, & Benjamin, 1996, p.

82).

Bowlby not onlywrote about attachmentissues related to infants andyoung

children, but also wrote extensively about adolescent attachment issues. Similar problems that occurredin unattached or anxiously attached infants or young children due to the lack of a consistent caregiver also occurred in adolescents. In reviewing the studies on adolescent and young adult developmentof his time, Bowlby (19 73) foundthat youth who were deemed as being "amoral" came fromfamilies that were "markedly inconsistent" (p. 335).

He also pointed ou� that duringadolescence, attachment behavior is directed to people outside the familyand also to groups and institutions. These groups or institutions, Bowlby wrote, "can come to constitute formany people a subordinate attachmentfigure, and for some people a principal attachment figure" (p.207). 21 It follows, then, that children and adolescents in out-of-home care can develop an ., internalized working model of their caregivers and caregiving environments ( and

. institutions) as being unsafe and unpredictable. This can be base.d upon their lack of

attachmentto a consistent primary caregiver or to a consistent institution of care. As

noted above, this lack of attachment could result in emotional distress and personality

disturbance.

Developmental isssues of fosterchildren. Steinhauer (1991) took Erikson's

ideas on identity formation and Bowlby' s theory of attachment and used them to serve as

a basis fordescribing the developmental issues related to children in f

psychoemtional well-being. He described the arrested development of children in foster

. � care due to attachment issues. He argues that, due to unhealthy attachments and the . . inability to individuate in a healthy manner, the children and youth in foster care develop

unhealthy ways of relating to others, including behaviors such as withdrawing, splitting,

and raging. More· specifically, in relation to children being separated fromtheir families,

he described the discord, abuse, and/orneglect experiencedby children in their families

of-origin, when combined with a separation fromthe family, as producing a risk for

psychoemotional disturbance that is cumulatively greater than the sum of its individual

stress factors. Furthermore, he described the impact of multiple separations that children

experience by being moved between multiple placements: "The child who has had

multiple placements will have been exposed to multiple separations and parental figures.

With each such separation,the child's sense of lovability, security, and stability will. have

been furtherundermined" (p.66) .. 22 Steinhauer described the stigma that adolescents in fostercare feelas they are searching fortheir identity and niche in peer groups while at the. same time feeling painfully different fromothers because of being in out-of-home· care. He summarized the developmental difficultiesthat adolescents in fostercare faceby stating:

Since they may, by now, be having serious difficulties in several major areas of life, it is not surprising that they feelan increasing sense of failure, which furtherundermines their self-esteem. The resulting depression furtherdrains energies desperately needed foracademic achievement and social growth, again undermining developmental progress and increasing the sense of failureand of having missed out. The failure, over the years, to satisfyexaggerated needs foraff ection and security now begins to interfere with the fosterchild 's successfullynegotiating a major task of adolescence - the completion of individuation (p.69).

When adolescents do not complete the process of individuation, Steinhauer concluded, they are apt to be "used andabused" by others as they seek approval and affection or that they develop "pseudo independent posturing," exaggerating their readiness for independence. Both approaches can furtherexacerbate already difficultrelation ships with both peers and authority/parentalfigur es.

However, he cited researchwhich found that children in__foster care can overcome these developmental issues and become productive, mature, and individuated people with healthy self-esteem. Factors that contribute to their resiliency and success include: temperament, lon -term stays in a single fosterfamily, seeking acceptance rather than �·J rejection fromothers (the latter of which is done to validate the negative self-fulfilling prophecies about themselves), a long term relationshipwith a social worker, and therapy. 23 A sense of safety with others, which is established by child's sense of lovability, security, and stability, as mentioned above, is a critical factorin establishing these relationships with (a milies, peers, social workers, and therapists.

Safety in Therapy

Silin (2000), in writing about conducting therapy with children in out-of-home care, used attachment theoryto address how multiple placements and the loss of caregiving adults add to these children 's sense of discontinuity and impermanence.

She wrote that "[d]eficit s in development, restriction of cognitive capacity, and underlying depression may lead to symptomatic behavior that interfer�s with attachment to new caregivers" (p.299). �ddressing the therapeutic needs of children and youth �n more general terms, Shirk ( 1997) explained that the focus of treatment is to returnchildren to "healthy pathways" of development. However, many treatment interventions have only sought to control the malad�ptive behaviors rather than addressing the cause s of the behaviors.

Shirk argued that only by helping the children develop adaptive competencies at appropriate development levels can they be returned to a "healthy developmental path"

(p.68). He pointed out that one of the factors that aid chi ldren who have experienced high levels of adversity and who are considered "at-risk" to have better chances of personal and social health is to "receiye stable care or maintain a relationship with a competent adult" (p.68).

A more basic need in therapy than returning children to ·healthy developmental pathways is feeling safein the therapeutic environment. Rappaport( 1997), who wrote on this process in psychotherapy, stated that safety is both a necessary and sufficient 24 condition fortherapeutic progress. He furthercommented that "the effectiveness of any intervention can be understood in terms of its effect on the patient's sense of safety"

(p.251 ). Rapport explained how patients in therapy test forsaf ety by observing those in the therapeutic environment, by being compliant, and/orby being non-compliant. He further concluded that "[ a ]ny response to a test which helps the patient to feel saferis therapeutic" (p.256). Indicators of feelingincreasingly safe in therapy included greater muscle relaxatioq., less voice stress, more fluid use of language, less defensiveness, increased self-confidenceand/or self-esteem, increased emotional expressiveness, the willingness to introduce new material into therapy, insights into probl�ms, and progression of testing. Rappaportconcluded that only when patients begin to feel safe will they be able to gain insights into their problems and the take the risk of giving up maladaptive behavior.

Safety forChildren in Care

Overall, the concept of "sense of safety'' forchildre� in out-of-home care can be definedas a sense of psychoemotional and physical safety that is held both globally and in relating to specificpeople, ·places, and situations while in an <;:>ut-of-home care setting. Given that many°'.childrenin out-of-home care come frombackgrounds of abuse and neglect, it is' crucialthat their safetyneeds be understood and met so that they can make therapeutic progr�ss in dealing with the traumas related to these background factors.

Too, many childr�n in out-of-home care will exhibit acting out or delinquent behavior

(both forms of maladaptive behavior) due to these background factors. It follows from

Rapport'sideas, then, that only when children feel safe enough to change will these behaviors be changed to more socially acceptable (adaptive) behavior. 25 These therapeutic perspectives, along with the developmental theories of Erikson and Bowlby, have important implications forabused, neglected,'and delinquent children and youth in out-of-home care who are continuously relocated. As children and Y,Outh are moved between placements, theirattachments to the people and to the institutions in which they reside are severed repeatedly while their development capabilities for trusting others, trustingthemselves, and maintaining hope are compromised. The practice of moving children between multiple placements not only threatens their sense of identity and their capabilities of maintaining healthyhuman attachments, but it also is antithetical to a sound, developmentally-based approach to treatment in that it co�promises their development of positive coping skills and social competencies.

Research Related to the Unique Sample

Most of t_he participants in this study are adolescent males who are in residential treatment, grouphome, or independent living programs (see below). [Nationwide, 19% of children in fostercare are in such placements (AFCARSReport, 2001 ). ] All of them will have experienced multiple relocations between out-of home care placements. It should be noted, as well, that these participants come from both juvenile justice and social services (i.e., dependent and neglect) caseloads. The State of Tennessee serves children fromboth these backgrounds in the same agencies and programs whereas other states have dual tracks of care forchildren and youth with these respective distinctions. It can be argued, however, that the etiology of their reasons forbeing in care and resulting behavioral and emotional problems have many commonalities.

Adolesce�ts were chosen to be participants because, first,the researcher has access to conducting research with this population, and second, because most adolescents 26 have the capability of reflectivethoug ht and a greater capability of articulating their thoughts andemotions. This capacity for reflectionand articulation is needed forthe qualitative portion of the study and is beneficial forthe quantitative portion, as well.

Although adolescents experience their own unique developmental processes, it can be argued that many of their experiences in out-of-home care can be generalized to pre adolescents, as well.

However, there are some unique factors about older children in institutional care that should be addressed. In general it has been found that children and youth in institutional care ( as opposed to family foster care) are highly wlnera�le, tend to be older, have more behavioral and emotional problems, have more handicapping conditions, come from more disorganized families, have feweror no family-of-origen resources, and have a historyof multiple placements (Maluccio, Fein, et al., 1982;

Pardeck, 1985). Also, children with more behavioral and emotional problems are half as likely to be reunited with their familiesas those without such problems (Maluccio,

Abramczyk, et al., 1996).

Studies done with children who were not in out-of-home care have found that as they grow in age andmaturity they have a greatersense of an internallocus of control

(Chubb, FertmaU: & Ross, 1997; Friedman, Goodrich, & Fullerton, 1985), which can help them feel more independent and confidentin their own capabilities and insights.

However, as children in out-of-home care get older, they exhibit more behavioral problems, tend to have shorter stays in placements, move more often,and move to more restrictive placements(Pardeck, 1985; Taber & Proch, 1987). Also, older childrenin care were found to experience more difficultyin adjusting to placements in permanent 27 homes (Fein& Maluccio, 1984). Other factorshave been correlated with children who haveexperienced multiple relocations. Fein and Maluccio (1984) foundthat children with more placements scored lower on measures of functioning\ban did those with fewer . . . placement (though, they did not indicate what these measures were), andIglehart (1994) foundthat youth with more placement disruptions were less likely to be ready to transitioninto independent living programs.

Althoughthe literature review on the impact of foster�are and multiple placements comes from studies of both children in familyfoster care and childrenin group care, the findingswill be relevant to the participants in this study. Most participants in this study have spent time in both family foster homes and group care settings. In summary, the participants in this study represent some of the more challenging issues that are dealt with in caring for children out-of-home care. A focus on this population is important, however, because, with greater emphasis on policy and practice related to preservationand reunificationand on caring formore difficultcases in family foster care, the manifestationof behavioral and emotional problems of children andyouth in institutional treatment �ill likely grow, as will the predominance of older children and youth cared forin institutional treatment (Orme & Buehler, 200 1). 28 ID. Qual�tative Study

The empirical evi�ence on the impact of children in out-of-home care moving multiple times is sparseand contradictory. Itis quite possible that the use of purely quantitativemethods may not get atthe depth and complexity of all that is associated with this phenomenon. As mentioned above, two qualitative studies with adults who were in fostercare as children foundthat they had experienced these moves as painful and unsettling (see Tabor & Proch 1987). Kools' (1997) conducted one of the few qualitative studies of youth while they were in care. However, this studyexamined the impact of being in foster care on adolescent identity development and .did not include an exploration of the impact of relocations between placements while in fostercare. There is, in fact, no knownqualitative study with childre� currently in care on this topic.

Staffand Fein (1995) suggested that much of the practice of social work with children is concerned"with change - preparing children fora move, implementing the change, and dealing with the results of the ensuing placement" (p.386). An understandingof how such change impacts children and trainingin how to prepare children, families, caregivers, and agencies forchange ultimately would provide a smoother transitionbetween placements and buffersome of the potential negative consequences of �uch transitions. An understanding of how children experience moving multiple times between placements and their sense of safety related to these moves can be examined through the researchtradition of qualitative inquiry.

Paradigmatic Perspective

A qualitative approach is constructivistic in nature and uses an inductive approach to knowledge-building. This approach has its basis in the theory of symbolic 29 interactionism (Blumer, 1969), a perspective of understanding human interaction whereby individuals give subjective interpretation to the social phenomenon in which they a_.reengaged. More specifically, this study will use a phenomenological approach of qualitative inquiry. Polkinghome(1 989) described the purpose of phenomenological inquiry as being the production of "clear, precise, and systematic ·descriptions of the meaning" (p. 45) that individuals give to their experiences. Similarly, Moustak:as (1994) stated that a " ... phenomenologicalapproach involves a return to experience in order to obtain comprehensive descriptions that provide the basis for a reflectivestructura l analysis that portray the essence of the experience" (p. 13). Simply p�t, "[t]he aim is to determine what an experience means for the persons who have had the experience and are able to provide a comprehensive description of it" (Moustak:as, 1994, p. 13): This study, then, will seek to learn of the "lived experiences" (Creswell, 1998) of youth who have experienced multiple relocations while in out-of-home care.

Role of the Researcher

In qualitative research, the researcherbecomes the instrument by which data are collected (McCracken, 1988). In this light, it is importantto establish the role of the researcher with the participants and to explore the background and biases that the researcherbrings to the process. One method of establishing the reliability of the researc�er as the instrument is sometimes called the ep och. The epoch is the conscious effort of the researcher to set aside his or her own presumptions, assumptions, and judgments about the phenomenon that is being studied so that the phenomenon can be studied with openness to the perspectives of the participants (Moustakas, 1994). A part of the process of the epoch can be a bracketing interview of the researcher or a bracketing 30 statement by the researcher (Creswell, 1996). Such a bracketing pro�ess allows the researcherto explore his or her own experience( s) of the phenomenon being studied and the bi�ses with which he or she brings to the understanding of the phenomenon.

In addition to a bracketing exercise, both Denzin (1989) and Allen (2001) have suggested that the researcher should be aware of his or her own unique background and state the background he or she brings to the research. This is another approach to assess the biases of his or her understanding of the phenomenon under study. Such a statement of background and personal experience can be considered in the subjective analysis of the data by both the researcherand the readers as a way of establishing th� reliability of the researcher's interpretation of the data. A statement of the researcher's experience in the fieldalso can help to establish his or her credibility and reliability in understanding the phenomenon being studied. Having experience of the culture within which the participantsare a part canhelp the researcher to have a holistic understandingof the norms, behaviors, and language of the participants (Creswell, 1998). With these goals in mind, I offer a bracketing statement below.

Bracketing Statement

Unlike many of the childrenwhom I am studying, I was raised in a very stable, loving, and nurturing home environment. My parents moved to a different house when I was an infant and then moved again when I was three years old. I was so young that I cannot recall my feelings about the moves at those times. I lived in thissame house for the next nineteen years. My parentsstill live in the same house, which continues to give me a sense of"roots" and stability, both geographically and emotionally. I have moved 31 several times while in graduate school and between different employment opportunities, however, these moves were always my choice.

I am a staff-person at the child-care agency where the researchwas conducted.

This could have had both positive and negative impacts on the dynamics of this study. I was formerly the Chaplain at this agency and worked directly with some of the potential participants, which could have an impact on the social desirability of the responses given in the interviews and on the instrumentsused. However, such a relationship can help to establish a level of trustwith participants that would be an asset to the process as a whole and to the interview process, in particular. In relation to my formerro _le to the youth as

Chaplain, it should be stressed that participation in religious activities on behalf of the youth at the agency was on a strictly voluntary basis. Voluntary participationin religious activities and voluntary participation in this study decreases the likelihood that the participantsfelt coerced or compelled to participate.

However, the majority of the participants will have not related to me in this role as Chaplain, but willknow of me as one of the staffof the agency. I am presently the

StaffDevelopment Coordinator, which is a role that does not include direct interaction with the youth on a regular basis. Being a staffperson at this agency also could impact the social desirability found in the responses, though it. has been my experience that that the youth are quite honest and forthcomingin sharinginf ormation about such a topic.

The positive aspect about being a staffat the agency is that the participantsmight feel a certain level of trust with me as a "known person" or "recognized face" on campus. Such a level of trust is very importantwith children in general and especially with children and youth in out-of-home care settings. 32 Special attention needs to be given to the power dynamics that exist between researchers and their participantsin general, and this is of particularconcern when childr�n are the participants (Eder& Fingerson, 2002; Fine & Sandstrom, 1988). By virtue of their status of majority in our society, adults are in "power" positions over children (minors). Such a status of power is exacerbated in the role of a staffperson in the child welfare system, where children can perceive the staffas having "control" over them. I am aware of these dynamics and worked to make the children in this study feel as if they are valuable sources of knowledge rather than "subjects" under the control of the researcher.

After workingfor ten years with children in out-of-home care in an agency that provides residential treatment, group home care, independent living resources, and various levels of fostercare, I have developed a great concern forthe sense of safetyand well-being thatthe children feelafter seeing children moved fromagency to agency, treatment program to treatment program, and foster �ome to fosterhome as a regular practice of the present children's social services system of care. Beyond mere concern, I am angered by this factthat children are moved so oftenwhile in care and by the factthat it often is justified as a "therapeuticnecessity" forthe children. I believe that such a practice actually hinders therapeutic progress and adds to the children's sense of rejection and poor self-est�em and self-image. In short, the I believe that such a practice of moving children multiple times between placements is detrimental to them, thwarting both their development and therapeutic needs, and a�ds to the negative emotional issues that they already have. This concern forthe therapeutic needs of children in careand the 33 goal of protecting their human dignity has motivated the author to conduct research on this particulartopic .

I understand that I must "set aside" my biases andemot ions, as much as possible, while conducting this study so that my biases do not contaminate the presentation of and interpretation of the data provided by the participants. I have sought to represent the data with integrity so that it honestly portrayed the experiences of the participants. The ultimate goal of this research, frommy perspective, was to give voice to the experiences of participants as they expressed those experiences in their own ways and to come to understand the meaning they gave those experiences.

Method

Sample

The participants forthe qualitative portion of the �tudy were selected fromthe male clients at Holston United Methodist Home forChildren (HUMHC) in Greeneville,

Tennessee who were between the ages of 12 and 18 years. Participants were asked to take part in the study based upon staffinput on the ability of the children to be reflective about their experience of moving while in out-of-home care as well as their ability to verbalize their thoughts and feelings about that experience. They were not selected based on the perceived beliefs regarding moving. Such a sample is considered a theoretical sample (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss, 1987), which is similar to a purposive sample.

Participants in a theoretical sample are asked to be a part of a phenomenological study because they have experienced the phenomenon to be studied and can provide descriptions of their experiences (Polkinghome, 1989). 34 Thirteen (i3) participantswere asked to be interviewed, and all consented.

However, only 12 of the interviews were used in the finalstudy. One participantlacked

the ability to reflectabout his experiences and was not able to verbalize adequately his

thoughtsand feelingsabout the experience of moving forthe purpose of this study, thus

his interview was dropped from the study. The participants interviewed were between

the ages of 13 and 18 (M = 15.83, SD = 1.85), with ten (10) (83.3%) being White and

two (2) (16.7 %) being African American. They had experienced an average of9.92

moves (SD = 4 .1, range = 4-17) and had spent an average of 128.92 days at their present

placement (SD = 128.06, range 17-432. Two (2) of the participants w�re in an

independent living program, one (1) was in a community grouphome ( considered a Level

· 1 placement in the state of Tennessee), and nine (9) were in residential treatment, with

four(4) being in a Level 2 program and five (5) in a Level 3 program. All of the

participantsinterviewed also participatedin the quantitative study. One of the youth

participated in the quantitative pilot study (see below) whereas the remaining 12

participated in the second wave of data collection. (See Quantitative Study for a

comparison of background variable forthe participants interviewed with those who

participatedin only the quantitative portion of the study.)

Human Subjects Approval

Participation in these interviews was voluntary, as indicated by the participant's

signature on an"Informed Assent" form (see Appendix A). Participa�ts who were legal

minors were able to participate only if their parents or legal guardians gave permission,

as indicated by the appropriate signatures on the "Parent/GuardianInformed Consent"

(see Appendix A). Parental/Guardianconsent for participation in research is requireddue 35 to the agency's status as a contract provider of services with the State of Tennesseeand by the accreditation standards of the Council of Accreditation (COA) of Servicesfor

Families and Children, Inc. Approval foryouth fromthis agency to participatein this study was grantedby the Institutional Review Board (IRB)of the University of

Tennessee, KnQxville, the Human Rights Committee ofHUMHC,Art Masker,

President/CEOof HUMHC, and the State of Tennessee's Department of Children's

Service (see Appendix B).

Interview Methodology

The interviews were conducted in the living facilitiesand in th� campus school of

HUMHC in quiet, private areas that were agreed upon mutually by the youth and the researcher. At the end of the interview, the youth were given a two-liter soft-drink as a token of gratitudefor their participation. The interviews were recorded on audio-tape and then transcribed.

The face-to-face, long interviewmethodology was used (McCracken,19 88).

(, McCracken (198�) suggested that a sample of only eight (8) participants be used in the long interviewmethodolog y, which can produce interviews that can last several hours.

However, youth in out-of-home care, in general, have been foundto have lower verbal capacities because of a varietyof background factors(Fanshel & Shinn, 1978; see

Wekerle & Wolfe, 1996). Also, some youth might have shorter attention spans due to cognitive deficits. Thus, longer, intensive interviews might not have been appropriate for some participants. A shorter interview format, lasting less than an hour, was necessary for some participants to remain comfortable during the process. Because a shorter interview formatwas more conducive to interviewingthis specific population, more 36 youth were interviewed in order to gain a depth andbreadth of understanding of the

experience of the phenomenon of moving while in out-of-home care and the sense of

safety one has in the process of these relocations. After conducting the twelve (12)

interviews used for the study, the researcher deemed that the information gained had met

the criteria forsaturation (Strauss& Corbin, 1998), in that relatively no new information

was being gained about the phenomenon of moving and the experience of safetyby the

end of the last interview.

A discussion guide (McCracken, 1988), with content based on the author's

experience of working with youth in out-of-home care, his prior research on the topic,

and a review of literature, was used to give a loose structure to the interviews. The

discussion guide contained questions that sought backgroundinf ormation, two central or

"grand tour" questions, related to the experience of moving and the sense of safetyone

feelswhen moving, and other "category" questions that come at the end of the interview

(see Appendix C). McCracken (1988) defineda "grand tour" question as being one that

is open and non-directive; a "category" question, however, allows the researcher "to

account forall the formal characteristics of the topic under discussion" (p.36).

Appropriate prompts were used to elicit more informationfrom participants and to clarify

their responses (McCracken, 1988).

This methodology, which used an emergent design (McCracken,1988), was

implemented so .that the researcherallowed the participantsto "lead" the discussion via

. the content of their responses to the initial questions. Itis important forthe participants

to lead the discussion rather than the researcher. This is done to counter the risk of the

researcher offeringtoo much direction that could move the participantsto make 37 commentary on topics that are more importantto the researcher than to participants themselves. The design of the discussion guide was emergent, as well, in that the nature of the questions and prompts changed frominte rview to interview as the researcher gained more understanding of the phenomenon being discussed I!omthe perspective of the participants (Polkinghome, 1989). This offered a "zig-zag'_' approach to data gathering based upon the initial analysis of the data that had already been collected

(Creswell, 1998).

Data Analysis

Polkinghome (1989) described the aim of phenomenological d�ta analysis as

"teas[ing] out the essential descriptions of the experience under investigation" in order to findthe "essential features" of the experience (p.50). Itis an analysis in the linguistic realm, rather thanin the statistical realm, which seeks to create a synthesis of the collective meanings offered in the individual interviewsinto a structural description of the phenomenon being studied (Polkinghome, 1989).

With this as the goal, afterthe audio tapes of the interviews was transcribed by the researcher, the transcriptswere read to get a sense of the "whole" of each interview

(Polkinghome, 1989). (See Appendix D fora copy of the transcripts. In these transcripts, "f' was used to designate the words of the researcher as the "Interviewer" and

"P" was used to designate the words of the "participant.") The researcher then highlighted what were considered to be important words, phrases, descriptions, explanations, and interpretations offered by participants in each interview transcript.

Such verbal explanations generated by the participantsthemselves are considered to be

"emic" terms (as opposed to "etic" terms, which are the explanations interpretedby the 38 researcher and then put into the researcher's own terms or language) (Creswell, 1998).

Such emic terms also can be considered as "meaning units," which gives a textural description of the experience (Creswell, 1998; Moustakas, 1994). Moustakas (1994) definesthe textural description as being the feelings,"senses," and thoughts about the experiencethat have been expressed by the participants.

The researcher's major professoracted as a second reader of the transcripts and reviewed the highlighted areas in order to establish a sense of agreementon the meaning units that were highlighted. The major professor added only one sentence to those that had been highlighted by the researcher (see note in Appendix E).

The highlightedmeaning units were then separated fro�the remaining text in the transcripts and put in a bulleted format forthe purpose of coding. (See Appendix E for

the meaning units). The ✓analysis of the interviews then moved fromthe "the particularto the general" (McCracken, 1988; Polkinghorne, 1989) in that the researcher took these individual meaning units and categorized them into major themes and sub-themes that were conceptualized fromthe content of the meaning units. Indicators of these themes and sub-themes were established to inform the second coder of the content of these themes (Boyatzis, 1998). These themes, sub-themes, and indicators are listed in

Appendix F along with the number of meaning units that were placed in each major theme.

The researcher's major professorindependen tly took a li:stof these meaning units and placed them in the major theme and sub-theme categories that were defined by the researcher. The inter-rater reliability between the researcher and the second reader was 39 satisfactory (Cohen's kappa = . 75). This form of analytic induction adds to the establishment of the content validity of the major themes (Babbie, 1998).

· . Finally, these major themes were used to create a structural description of the phenomenon as it had been described by the participants (Moustakas, 1994). (See the structural description �elow in the "Findings" section.) These structures are concomitant . ... with the "essenti_al meaning" or "essence" of the experience, as stated above. At times, direct quotes were used to expound upon these themes, with identification numbers from the respective transcripts fromwhich they were taken noted atthe end of the quotes.

The hermeneutical ( or interpretive) analysis of the experience of moving while in out-of-home care and the sense of safetythat the youth feelas a part of this experience, was generated out of the words of the youththemselves, as they verbally interpretedtheir experiences and the meaning they give to those experiences. The youths' expressions of their own experiences containsan inherent contentvalidity, because they are the experts on their own experiences and the meaning that they give to these experiences. This approach to analysis is a departurefrom the positivistic, deductive approach of statistical analyses of chilckassessment instruments, which oftenhave been produced by middle classed, middle-aged, male academics. However, it must be pointed that this interpretive process is layered, in that the youth have interpreted the experience to the researcher, who in turninterpreted the experience to the readers. The readers, then, act as another check on the reliability of the interpretation offered by the researcher. 40 Findings

Descriptions of Moving

Before understanding how youth in out-of-home care perceive their sense of safety when they experience moves between placements, it is imperative first to gain an understanding of their experience of moving, in general. The majority of youth interviewed experienced moving as negative. They used the following words and phrases to describe moving: "scared,""surpri sed," "makes me madt "it sucks," "don't like it,"

"gets old," "depressing," "messed up," "confusing," "weird," "disappointed,"

"upsett ing," "hard," "uncomfortab 1 e," and "stressful."

However, three of the participants said that they weren't worried and that it didn't bother them. Allthe participants, though, described negative aspects of moving several times while in care.

Family Issues

O_ne of the most difficult things in the midst of moving forthese youth is being away fromtheir families. Ten of the twelve youth interviewed made references about either being away from their familyand not having enough contact with them or worrying about their families. One youth stated:

That was the hardest thing, ...getting used to being away fromhome, because that meant that I'm away from my parents. So, that makes things a lot harder. (76)

In responding to a questionabout what was the most di fficultthing about moving, a youth said:

Worrying about your parents. How they're going to findyou, or, if they know where you're at. ...When I went to [name of psychiatric hospital] and went to that foster home, they didn't know where I was at fora week. And I had to sneak and call fromthe foster home. 'Cause I knew my 41 Mom didn't know where I was at or she would have called. It makes me feel· bad forthem as well as formyself. (81)

One youth summed up both the difficultyof not being able to be in contact with his familyand of worryingabout them:

... each placement I got to, they allowed a phone call when I got there to let our parentsknow where we was. When I got to [ name of treatment center], though, I think it was like two months beforeI called them, because I,wasn't on level to have phone calls and stuff That was real hard. Couldn't send mail or nothing like that. It was hard. Really not knowing if my parents were OK. If one of them had been hurt,if my mama had been hurt or my brother. (76)

Many youth are in care because of difficultieswith their family members.

No matterwhat the past history of the relationship, even if it involved ·abuse or ' neglect, most children and youth in care want to be with their families. A youth in this study, though, expressed the ambivalence of sometimes wanting to have contact with familyand, then, sometimes not wanting to have contact with them:

I mean, sometimes you get closer to see your family. And there's like other times that, you know, you might be having a hard time dealing with your family. At that point, when you get to move somewhere else, I mean, it's sort of relieving, and then, you know, it could be, like, sort of, ah, stressfulbecause you're away from your familyand you're -not wanting to be away fromthem. It could go either way. (92)

In getting b�ckground information prior to the taped interviews, some youth talked aboutmoving before they were in out-of-home care. During an interview, one youth talked about moving with his family in contrast to moving while in care, the latter of which he describedas "depressing". He said:

When I was at home I had to move a lot. I was, like, in nine, ten different schools. . ..I'v e lived in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, all over the place. [I: What was that like having to move fromplace to place even with your family?] It wasn't real bad. Because I was with my family. (81) 42 "Good" Moves vs. "Bad" Moves

When asked if there was anything "good" about moving, three of the youth. mentioned·that it was an opportunityto travel and see new things and meet new people, which were opportunities that they wouldn't getot herwise. Three other youth expressed moving as a "change of scenery," getting a "clean slate" from their past behaviors, and a chance forpositive changes. In commenting on how moving could be a positive change, this youth said:

Sometimes you get away fromstuff that was kinda holding you down. Like, if you're having a problem with a staffhere, or something, or at [name of facility], and you just got tired of it, or there wasn't nothing happening foryou and then they moved you, probably it could. help you. You feellike you've got a chance to startover, too, from where you were at . (88)

Two youth, however, said that there was nothing good about moving.

Several of the youth, eight of the twelve, made a distinction between what they considered to be a move to a "good" place as opposed to a move to a "bad" place. A "good" place was described as a place where they were helped and where their needs were met, where there are less rules, more freedom, and more privileges; also, it is a place that they like. On the other hand, a "bad" place is more restrictive, a higher level of care, and a place that is not liked. All but one of the participantswho had been in a detention center described it in terms as a

"bad" place. When asked what staffcould say to prepare him fora move to another placement, a youth responded:

It depend� on where I'm going .... Ifl'm going somewhere bad, I'm probably going to run .... That's just about what everybody does. Ifl'm going somewhere good, ... I don't worry about it. I won't need nobody to 43 tell me it will be all right, if I'm going somewhere good, I'll know it, and I'll want to. (86)

Safety

Relationships with and roles of caregivers. Themes related to perception of safetywere interwoven in youths' responses both about the experience of moving and about what might make them feel safe or unsafe w�en they moved to new placements. The largest response set of any of the themes· had to do with their relationships to caregivers and the roles they played at the placements in which the youth stayed. This was relevant for staffin treatment facilitiesand detentiot?- centers as well as forfoster parents. (Seven of the youth had experienced placements in family fosterhom es.) Eleven of the youth commented on the importance of these relationships and roles in helping them feel safe.

Positive relationships with caregivers included them making an effort to talk to the youth, introducing themselves, and making an effort to get to know the youth. Mutual trust was important, as was equal treatment with other youth in treatment faciliti_es and with other fosterchildren and biologicai children in family fosterhomes. Those caregivers who made an effort to show genuine caring and to help youth were noted as being a positive influence on their sense of safety.

When asked what' was the most important thing a caretaker could do to help youth feelsafe, one youthresponded, "Try to actuallyhelp them out" (89). Another youth explained, 44 "I liked the program and the staffwhen I firstgot here with [name of staff]. Me and him, he worked with me real good, and uh, I got along with [him] OK, and they tried to work with me, and stuff' (87). . . Anot4eryouth said that feeling safe has to just come to you. When asked to explain what that meant, he said,

"When people start being good to you. Staff, peers. It just comes to you, and you notice what people do that's good foryou. And you notice what people are trying to help and what people aren't" (81 ).

Caregivers developing rapport with youth, even in the first fewhours of being at a placement, was expressed as being importantto one youth - even more importantthan learning the rules and expectations of new placement (�ee below).

He explained:

And then when you get to the other place, then staffju st don't straight up and break down all the rulesto you and tell you what's going on and how it's going to be and what not to do and not do this. You know, that's like, "Whoa. J mean, don't you even want to know who ... what my name is or ...?" I mean you don't know what to expect aft�rthat, you know. You feel like it's a worse place than it is right offthe bat. I mean, you're trying to ... you know, you don't know anybody here and as soon as you get in, you know they're like, "Blah, blah, blah. We do this, this, this, this, and this, and you can't do this or this happens, you know. You're like, hold on a minute. Like, "What's your name? What's this place like? Introduce me to some of the people" ... I'd ask them about themselves and stuff, ... You can tell what a lot of people think about you, and stuff, by what they tell you about theirself (199)

One essential role that caregivers' play in some of these youths' sense of safety is that of a protector. Protection is fromoth �r youth's aggressive and assaultive behavior (see below) or fromthat of caregivers themselves. One youth declared,

"I feelsafe around staffno matter what. Because I think of them as the Peacekeepers, and stuff. Andthat's what they are in places, like, keep up •.

45 the peace, and stuff, and keep everybody fromgoing at each other, and stuff' (74).

Expressing what happens when caregivers don't fulfill the role of

protectors, a youth said, " ...but when staffai n't around, who is going to take up

foryou . You are on your own, basically, When staffai n't around, you either

fight or getbeat up" (76). When asked how he felt when other youth in his house

hit him (something he disclosed in the interview), he responded,

"When staffdo n't do nothing about it, actually, it don't makeme feel safe, because if they're not going to do nothing about this, what makes me think that they'll do something about it nexttime" (82).

Other negative aspects of the relationships with and roles of caregivers

that make youth feelunsafe is when caregivers themselves are a physical threat to

them, when they are in a bad mood, or when the youth feel that the caregivers

provoke them. Four of these youth said that they know which caregivers actually

, care forthem and· want to help them and which ones are there foronly a

paycheck. As one youth asserted, "You can tell, like, if they actually care about

working there or if they're just there fora job" (199).

Another limitation of the role of caregivers was seen as their inability to •

prepareyouth to (e el safeabout moving to another placement. . Six.of the youth

said that caregivers couldn't adequately help them with that process, mainly because the caregivers themselves didn't have adequate knowledge of the other placement. When asked if a caretaker could say anything to help them, one youth stated,

They could, but, I probably wouldn't take it to heart, because, more than likely, they had never been there. They couldn't ever tell me how to 46 handle stuffover there if they had never been there. But if it were coming fromanother peer, I would take it to heart, because they had been through the situation. They could tell me how it is and what to expect when I get there. (76)

To this same question, another youth responded, "Nothing really .... If l don't feelsafe, I don 't feel safe. There's nothing that will help about it" (8 1)

Needing information. Informationis one thing that helped all the youth in this study to feelsafe. Alternatively, the lack of information was something that made them feel unsafe. In respect to the latter, six of the youth said they felt unsafe moving to a new placement because, during some transitions, they weren't told where they were moving. Other concernswere expressed about not knowing when they were going home or when they could contact their families (see above), not knowing what the programs and their expectations were, who was going to be there, or when they were going to be moved again. These concernson the lack of a sense of safetythe felt because of the lack of inforination they received were expressed by the youth in these ways :

It's stressful not knowing exactly what to expect at your next place or wherever you're going to live. (92)

It's just hard; hard on people. It's hard on the kids here that are moving .. . we don't know nothing that's going on, because the staffdon 't really tell us much when we get moved. (87)

I don't feel safe.. ..I don't know anybody there or ... I ain't never been there, don't know what it's like .... Not knowing who I'm going to be around. (8 1)

On the other hand, seven of the youth explained that they felt safeor safer when they had information about the placement they were moving into and its 47 rules, routines, and expectations. One youth suggested that it would be helpful for

a caregiver to givehim informationwhen he moved into a new placement:

Talk to me and let me know what's going on. Everybody needs to know what's going on ... beforethey enter a new environment. You just don't put somebody somewhere where they don't know what's going on or what to expect, cause they could end up getting hurt -- if they aren't aware of what's going on around them. (76)

Similarly, another youth stated:

...explain the rules and stuffto me. In case I'm doing something wrong or something, so I'm staying safe. That way, I know I'm doing something, or what I'm supposed to do. Or if there is some people doing stuffunsafe, I know what I'm doing is right, or just tell someone. Tliatway, I'll be safe. (87)

In talking about the need forinformation as being somethingthat helped him feel saferabout an impending transition to a new placement, a youth discussed getting to visit the place before the move:

Itwas a whole lot more helpful, 'cause I was just trying to imagine how staffwere, how the place was run. And when I went up there, they gave, you know, just a little tour of, like, where the stafflives. I talked to the staff. . . . Staffwere real nice. They gave me, like, a packet, and stuff, with the rules and expectations. They gave me the low down on the level system up there. And it made me feel a whole lot more comfortable, because I knew what I was coming into. [I: Does knowing the rules and expectations help?] Yeah. I mean, if at all possible, that would be, like, the biggest thing that anybody could do for somebody leaving fora different place. (92)

When describing arriving at a new placement, two of the youth said that it was helpfulto be welcomed in. Having a "group" meeting in which the caregivers and other youth introduced themselves was C:fescribedas a helpfulway to gain information, along with having a peer to orient them to the rulesand the physical layout of the place. 48 Watching and waiting. However, when arriving at a new placement, nine of the youth interviewed talked about gaining information and assessing the safety of the place andt�e people in it, by watching and waiting to see how others act and react to them.

Some said that it just takes time and that you must find out this information on your own.

Two of the youth ·expressed the fearthat they felt during this process:

Well, when you move, the firstthing is, fear. Like, you're afraid of what's going to happen, who you're going to meet next, and that person could be you're new be your new best friend for your whole life or be your new worst enemy forthe rest of your life, or they could just be a part of your life forjust a small time. (86)

It's a scary experience forme, because you don't know, like, the people there until you' re there a month. And you start talkingand warm up to them, and then you're, like, going into new surroundings. For me it takes . a pretty long time forme to adjust to where I am. . ..getting to know the other guys that you're with is kinda the most scariest partthan actually being where you arepl aced. Because you don't know them ... they're kind dangerous until you, like, get to know them, and stuff(74)

Four of the youth said that they approach this time of watching and waiting by being quiet and reserved. One of these explained thisby saying,

I just walk in, and, well, I' 11 pretty much be silent, like, forthe first, like, couple hours that I'm there. I prettymuch check everything out, so, that's about it. I just watch what everybody does and see who's cool and who isn't, you know, who's afraid of who, 'cause that sortahelps out a lot when it comes to, like, you, sortabeing neutral in the whole game of· things. (92)

This particularyouth also expressed the process of how others were going to react to him during the firstday or two in the new placement:

I'd say, "Introduce me to, like, the kids and the rest of the staff. That way, you know, I could see how friendly they are towards me the firstday. And, like, so I want to see if gradually, you know, if they get used to having a new kid or whatnot, and then, if they don't, then I'd know exactly who I don't feelsafe around, and, you know, who I do. I mean, you could meet somebody that'd be having a bad day and be, like, your 49 best friendthe next.. .. Within the twenty-four, forty-eighthour difference of just being around them, you can tell. (92)

It seems, then, that the youth not only assess the reactions of others for

sake of their physical safety, but that they also assess others to see if they are

going to be accepted by them as a friend or peer. One youth asserted that this sort

of assessment is common to all adolescents. He explained that he looks to see

how others are looking at him:

Like when you get there, what are they going to do - how arethey going to look at you. If you' re going to fit in or not. Things like that. Things that most teenagers are worried about. They all are looking to _fit in. (76)

Friends. Half of the youth interviewed expressed how importantfriendship is among their peers who are in care with them. Two said that they tend to trust peers that they have known fromprevious placements or those who are-from their same hometowns, which helps them to better adjust to coming into a new placement and feel safer. Once friendships are developed, they help to alleviate some of the stress and fearof being in a placement, by providing someone with whom to identify, someone with whom to talk, someone fromwhom to gaininformation, andsomeone who will be a protector. The need forfriends were expressed in these ways:

But all you. need is a friend in all the places. That knows and will help you stand up tQ other people if you need it. That knows what it's like. (93)

Either you make friend or you're by yourself the whole time you're locked · up. And having friends; that's a good thing, because you have somebody to talk to when you need somebody to talk to. (76) 50 One youth, however, summed up how difficult it is to move fro�plac ement to placement and leave friends:

You don't getto stay and make friends, because all your friendsis ... you move fromthem, and . . . people you really care about get moved away ... Moving just makes me depressed because I got to leave everything that I'm used to .. And, just, people that really care about me isn't around no more. (86)

Negative behavior of other youth. At the opposite pole of having friendswho help to offer a sense of safety and acceptance are the youth who act aggressively toward others who are in the same placement. Ten of the twelve youth interviewed expressed a lack of sense of safetybecause of the behavior of these aggressive yo�th. Such behavior included playing mean pranks, physical assault and abuse, threats,and stealing. Two youth who had been in psychiatric hospital talked about being afraid of the other youth there whom they described as being "crazy." Three of the youth told ofbeing assaulted or picked on by older and bigger youth. One stated, "Most places, pretty inuch, if you're in a place with a lot of older guys it's not really safe ... they're going to whoop y�m"

(82). Another said,

...when I went to [name of facility], I got beat up, and stufflike that. . ..I didn't reallyget beat up. This kid was three or fouryears older than me.· Andhe said something, andI answered his questions, and he smacked me in the face.. ..Just having to be around a bunch of older kids. I}ust didn't like ...I was just scared of getting beat up. (8 1)

This fearof other youths' behavior is not just something experienced by those who are younger and smaller. A seventeen-year old, who was six feet, five inches tall and weighed over 25 0 pounds expressed fear of assault, too:

...mainly, it_s, like, if you're new, they [kids] just up and attackyou if they don't like the way you look or anything, or the way you talk, or stuff. This petty stuff, like, ... it's just when you get in there you've got the fear 51 -who 's going to hit you and when they're going to hit, and could it be from behind or in frontof you or what. (92)

Adapting

All but one of the youth made comments about ways that they adapt or don't adapt to being moved fromplacemen t to placement and about adaptations that help them to feel safe. Six of the youth said that they got used to being moved, ·yet three of them qualified that it took some time to get used to moving.

As stated above, three other youth stated that moving didn't bother or worrythem .

One youth described how some youth don't want to leave a placement because they have become comfortable with the rulesand routine:

Like, how I was comfortable there and how I had alreadylearn ed all the rules there, and how I knew what to do there and knew what they expected of me.· I just feltlike I was comfortable staying there. (88)

Four of those interviewed said that is was easier (or at least not worse) to move to placements within the same agency or to return to places that they had been before. One said, "Well, like, places that I've already been, I f�el safe" (8 1).

Choices and control. Half of the participants talked about choices and issues of control as related to moving. Three talked of gettingto make choices of moving to another placement, which was helpful for them in the process.

However, three youth talked about having no choice or control over where they . . were going as being negative. One youth told of an incident when he was put in shackles and moved to a detentioncenter in the middle of the night. He explained how he awoke in the sally port of the detention center, surrounded by bars, and said that he "feltlike animal" (81 ). 52 Three youth talked about feelingin control by·how they intimidated or

acted physically aggressively toward others in order to staysafe :

Fortunately, I've been big enough and scary enough that they wouldn't mess with me.. ..It sorta keeps the kids that mainly try to runthe place away fromyou a little more than it did the rest of them, because they don't know what you're capable of or what you would do to them if they did something to you. If they, like, hit you, would you go psychotic on them or, like, stab them or something. You know, ·something crazy like that. I mean it pretty much keeps them away fromyou. (92)

I was fightingthree or fourtimes a week. I didn't have no choice but to fight. 'Cause if you didn't, theywould fightyou . You know, people would look down on you. Like, "You just let him run his mouth to you, and you didn't do nothing about it." ...Be cause you ain't supposed to let nobody runover you. That's just how I was. I didn't let ho body runover me. (76)

Unless I do the hitting first. The kids are afraid of me, because I do most of the hitting ....when a new kid gets cockyand tries to jump up in my face. Then I've got to show them who's boss. I've got to put them in their place, because they're a new kid, and they don't need to think that they're bigger and better than everybody, because I know I'm not bigger and better than everybody. And if I can show them that I'm bigger and better thanthem, then that makes them feel small. (86)

This last youth, however, talked about how his choice of hitting·others or not

would dictate his next placement, which would be to a detentioncenter if he

assaulted anyone else.

Ironically, two of these youth who had explained their need forphysical forceto adapt to the environment, along with one other talked about a mental

approach to adapting. They said, basically, that being in a placement is "what you make out it."

One youth who had experienced fifteenplacements in eight months also described how he would just begin to get used to a placement an� then would be 53 moved again. He said that he didn't like having to startover. ·Two other youth said that they didn't feel comfortable at any placement. One stated, "It kinda weird'. Can't really get comfortableat any place like that moving so much" (88)

Helping Other Youth Move In and Move Out

When these youth were asked what they would say or do to help other youth who were moving away to a new placement or moving into their placement to feel safe, responses ranged fromadvice, reassurance, and positive actions. The advice to those leaving came in statements like "stay out of trouble," "do better'' and "don't fuckup ." Reassuranceto that groupwas more along the lii:ies of telling them that it will be "OK" and to "keep their head up." A.youth who had experienced fifteenpl acements said that he would tell them, "I've been everywhere. It'snot really that bad" (82), and to call him when they got there.

Some said that they would spend time talking with the youth being moved and tell them about the place if they had been there.

For those who were moving in, the youth offered responses that were similar to the needs for safetythey expr�ssed in other parts of the interviews.

Three youth said that they would help the new youth to get to knowthe rules, routines, and expectations of the placement. One said that he would go up and introduce himself and be friendly. (Ironically, this is the same youth who presents himself as being ''big and scary" to other youth when he moves into a new placement.) 54 One Final Statement

At the end of the interview with an eighteen year-old who had experienced seventeen moves between placements, he was asked if there was anything else he could say about the whole experience of moving while in car�. Hisresponse is an apt summary of what was gained from all the participants:

I wouldn't recommend it if l was over some of these places. I'd try to give the kids, you know, one place to let them ... feel like it is an actual home instead of, "Well, you're not good," kick them out the door and send them to another place. You know, that don't help the kid at all. He don't establish nothing. (199)

Discussion

In general, the youth in this study described moving while in care as being a difficult and stressful experience. It is an experience that compromises their sense of safety in the process of moving fromone placement to another. However, the youth discussed the actions and attitudes of others that can help to ameliorate the fearand anxiety that moving brings and that helps them to _more easily adapt to their new environment.

Feelings of distress and fearabout moving to new environments arecommon for children, in general (see Literature Review above). This is related to their developmental need forconsistency of environment, routines, and especially caregivers (Bowlby, 1969;

Steinhauer, 1991 ). Although consistency most often is discussed as a need of young children, adolescents have a developmental need for consistency, as well. This is especially important as they are struggling with the developmental crisis of identity formation(Erikson, 1968) and regressing in their behavior as a necessary part of the 55 process of moving forwardin their development (Blas, 1970). The lack of consistency experienced by children in care has a negative impact on the development of a positive identity (McDermott, 1987) and coping skills (Silin, 2000). It can contributeto- them experiencing identity confusion, or even worse, identity foreclosure, which is an acceptance of the negative identity message that they have been given by the social structure around them (Erikson, 1968). One difficultlyfor adolescents in care in developing an identity is that they do not have consistent interactions with parents and thus cannotgo throughthe developmental process of individuating fromthem

(McDermott, 1987; Steinhauer, 1991). Such a delay or cessation in t�e individuation process can exacerbate already tenuous familysystems issues related to the youth's identity. The youths' ability to establishseparate (though not disconnected) identities fromtheir parents is a necessarypart of the therapeutic process, especially when abuse and neglect have been a partof those relationship.

Many children in out-of-home care endure prolonged absences fromtheir families

(Winek & Faulkner, 1994). Being away fromfamily can produce anxietyabout loss of attachments to their primary caregivers (Bowlby, 1973) and other familymembers, and such loss makes children in care especially vulnerable (Kools, 1997). Although children are in care because of difficultieswith their families, such as abuse, neglect, and poor parenting, they can still have attachments to their parents and familymembers albeit a range of insecure attachments (Ainsworth, 1991). Not only do children experience anxietyabout the loss of attachments to caregivers, but they lose many other things associated with "home" that can cause a sense of grief and loss (Jewett, 1982) which can include their house, personal belongings, friends, familiarsights, sounds, and smells, 56 schools, andeven pets. Loosing all these things cannot only be unsettling and anxiety producing, but it also compromises the sense of identity that is forming because of identificationwith these people and things.

Many of the children mentioned having less anxiety and fearrelated to moving to a "good" place versus a "bad" place. This view supports that argumentthat Tabor and

Proch (1987) mad� about moves between placements not being the same. It may hold true, then, that it may not necessarily be the number of moves that could have a negative impact on children but rather the number of perceived negative moves that could have a negative impact. However, the perception of whether a place was "go_od" or "bad" was based upon how strict an environment it was, if it meant being closer to being emancipated, and if there were people there who cared about them.

Finally, some of the youth talked about their ability to adapt to being moved.

They used terms like "get used to it" or "don't worryabout it" and said that it is "what you make of it." As stated above, three of the youth talked about not worrying about moving or it no�. bothering them. All three of the youth were either 17 or 18 years of age,. and, because of their age, might have a greater internal sense of control when facedwith coping with a move. However, all three of these youth, afterthe initial comment stating that they were not bothered by moving, went on to talk about negative aspects of being moved and feelingunsafe. (See transcripts of Participants#7 5, #76, and #199 in

Appendix D.) Such statements could have been a way forolder adolescent boys to feign a sense of invulnerability or nonchalance at something that might be troubling to them.

Children and youth in care have developed resourcefulways to adapt to the situations that they are in. Itis a technique that_ has helped them to surviveabuse, 57 neglect, abandonment, and poor parental care. Most of these adaptations, however, have

caused them to develop socially maladaptive ways of behaving a�d thinking and have

lead them down maladaptive developmental pathways (Heard & Lake, 1997; Rappaport,

1997; Shirk, 1999; Steinhaur, 1991). Although they have learnedto reframe dealing with the experience of moving in such positive terms,their descriptions of having to adapt to the stresses of moving whi\e in care is a commentary on yet another adaptation to negative experiences in their lives.

Safety

It is difficult to tease outsaf ety issues related specifically to m�ving and safety issues related to being in care,in general. Some of the responses fromthe youth may have been a reflection of the total experience of being in out-of-home care even though the questions asked of them were specifically about safety as it related to moving.

However, their responses can help us to understandthe safety issu�s which concern them and can help us draw implications forbetter practice in caring forthem while they are away fromtheir homes and while moving between placements.

The role of and relationships with caregivers was the mo st discussed theme -for the youth in this study, and thus appeared to be one of the most important factors contributingto their sense of safety. They felt safer, they said, if they knew that caregivers were going to protectthem and care for them. According toMasl ow's (1970) theory, this helps to meet their basic needs of having their physiological and safetyneeds met. Italso helps to meet the next level of needs, as well, which is to feel a sense of belonging. In this respect, ther feel connected to the people who care forthem. _ Bowlby

( 1973) assertedthat during adolescence, it is CO1?ffiOn foradolescents to atta ch to people 58 outside of the family. Such attachments through positive relationships to caregivers were

important to the youth in this study. Alongwith positive attachments, these relationships

with �taffdenoted .the need to trustan adult and to be trustedby an adult, which Erikson

(1968) held to be the primary developmental need on which all others are based. Such

positive relationshipswith significantadults outside of the familycan help vulnerable and

at-riskyouth to be. more resilient and successful (Masten, 1994; Steinhauer, 1991).

Relationships with friendsand earlier acquaintances from hometowns or other

placements also helped the youth to feel safer. Identifyingwith peers is normal

develop.mental behavior foradolescents (Erikson, 1968). As one yout� in the study

commented, fittingin is something all teens are concerned about. Yet such friendships

may play even a larger role foryouth in out-of-home care who do not have regular

contact with their parents or families. Also, there is a unique identificationthat takes

place in this setting, because not only are these peers similar in age, but they are going

through a uniquely similar experience of being in out-of-home care and being away from

their homes.

On the other side of the peer relationship is the fearof the others' behavior.

Several of the youth spoke of worryabout the negative, acting-out behavior of other

youth. Again, this is a basic safetyneed to feel freefrom the threat of physical harm

(Maslow, 1970). Children who have suffered abuse and neglect tend to spend a great

deal of their time and energy scanningthe environment to pick up on cues of physical

threat (Wekerle & Wolfe, 1996). This survival techniqueis something that they use in all

si�ations and environments. The behavior of others are givenattri butions by these children based upon their past experience of suffering harm, andtheir reactions to others 59 are based upon these attributions. Children who have suffered physical abuse, in

particular, tend to have "a negative attributional bias with peers, which increases the

likeli4ood of aggressive responding" (Wekerle & Wolfe, 1996, p. 511).

Need forinforma tion. Second to the role of caregivers, the youth expressed the

need to have information about the placement to where they were moving as the next

most importantfactor in their sense of safety. They wanted to know about its location, its

program rules, routines, and expectations, and they wanted to know what kind of people

were going to be there. Such information helped them to feel safer about moving to a

new placement. This need for information can be related to the concept of locus of

control. Having little or no information would give them a greatersense of an external

loc�s of control in the situation, whereas having information would help them to have a

greater sense of an internal locus of control. A more internal locus of control has been

foundto help people to cope with stressfulor adverse situations (Kliewer, & Sandler,

1992; Lefcourt,· 1982). (See the Methods section of the Quantitative Study fora fuller

explanation of locus of control.)

The need forpower or control was one of the basic developmental needs

expressed in the theories of both Erikson (1968) and Dreikurs (Dreikurs, Gunwald, &

Pepper, 1971). The adage, "Knowledge is power," rings true here. The more the youth

. know, the more power they have in dealing with the environment they move to and the

people in it, and the safer they feel there. The youth expressed the need to gain valuable

information fromboth caregivers and other youth. This can help them to develop what is

called "safebeliefs." Heard and Lake (1997) definedsafe beliefs as the ability to 60 ...make reliable (i.e., trustworthy) predictions about how they will be treated by those on whom they ultimately depend fortheir well-being and about how to actwithi n other relationships and toward things and events without feelingthat it is endangering themselves (p.168).

One unique way that they gained information, however, was throughassessi ng the safety of the environment and the people in it by watching and waiting. They watched the actions ·of others and waited to see how others would react to them, which relates to the process of scanning the envioronment. This fits with Rappaport' s (1997 ) writing on how patients search forsafety in therapeutic settings. He described the process of testing for safetythrough a variety of methods. One was testing through observation, much like the youth described. Anothermethod was testing by compliance via fo llowing the rules and expectations so that no negative consequences will befallthem. (Practitioners in the fieldcall this the "honeymoon" period.) Finally, there was testing by non-compliance, a method forassessing the safety of the situation when one is not following the rulesand expectations in order to see if others will continue to respond in a safemanner. The youth who talked about being good for a month a�d then starting to get into trouble is an example of the movement fromtesti ng by compliance to testing by non-compliance.

Three of the youth established control and safety forthemsel ves by being aggressive or intimidating toward other youth. Althoughsetti ng oneself up as the dominating figure in a group can take a sophisticated sequence of steps to gain such a position, it also can be seen as the most primitive response to unsafe situations by choosing to either fightor flee. In the interviews, some participants talked about themselves or others choosing the other alternative, especially when findingthey were 61 moving to a more restrictive, "bad" placement, which was to run away before they could be moved.

Limitations

There are limitations associated with this qualitative portionof the study. One, of which, has to �o with the sample. The sample is a very small representation of the number of youth in out-of-home care and comes froma population of children and youth who reside in residential settings. As described above, these youth tend to have been in care longer, and they generally exhibit more mental health issues and behavioral problems as well as have fewer viable familyresources. Although seven of the youth '· interviewed had lived_ in familyfoster care placements, this sample is not representative of tJ}osewho spend all or the majority of their time in family fostercare. Also, because those interviewedwere males, their statements on the experience of moving and the sense of safety that they feel related to moving cannot be generalized to females. Finally, because the participantswere adolescents, their experience of moving and their ability to cope with the safety issues related to moving may not be representative of younger children in care. (However, a qualitativestudy with an interviewform�t would be more difficultwith younger children who could have difficultybeing reflective about their experiences.) Finally, there was not a varied representation across racial backgrounds.

Thus generalizations fromthis studycan only be made to similar populations. A similar study that included a greater representation of children and adolescents, both male and female, fromacross a varietyof racial backgrounds and fostercare settingswould give a more heterogeneous perspective on moving while in care and the perceived the sense of safetyassociated with it. 62 There also are a multitude of factorsthat go into the decisions to move a child,

which make it a complex phenomenon to understand. For instance, caregivers may chose to moye a child forthe sake of increased safety and more appropriate services forthe

child, however, the child may perceive the move in a negative way and feelunsafe in the transition. Even more complex are the factorsthat contribute to ·children's sense of

safety.

Although there has been a great deal of legislation and writing on children in out

of-home care needing to be safe, there has been little empirical research on what

constitutes the construct of sense of safety for children in out-of-home care. More

research, both quantitative and qualitative, is needed to understand better the complexity and contributing factorsto these children's sense of safety and how it best can be assessed. For example distinguishing the number of perceived positive moves fromthose perceived as being negative or accounting fordiff erences in temperament could help to refineindivi dual difference in perceptions of safety.

It also should be considered that the youth in care are impacted by the ecological factorsof their unique system of care. These systemic influencesare impacted by individual state's child-care policies and practices andby those of the individual facilities or homes in which they have resided. Other variables that contribute to the overall ecological impact, such as frequency of contact with parents, total length of stay in foster care, staffand fosterparent trai ning and effectiveness, and number of accounts of physical abuse (both before coming into care and while residing in care), and permanency goals, could be considered in assessing sense of safety. 63 Finally, the issues related to the sense of safety of children in out-of-home care are highly complex. Studies using different perspectives, e.g., medical, social, organizational systems, familysyst ems, ecological influences,etc., must be integratedto get a broader and deeper understanding of the impact of multiple relocations on children in out-of-home care and their resulting sense of safety. Ultimately, longitudinal studies that assess a host of outcome factors would be an ideal way to measure the impact of being in foster care, experiencing multiple relocations, and the resulting sense of safety that children and youth carry with them.

Implications for Practice

Commenting on caring for children in residential placements, Caldwell and

Rejino ( 1993) stated that the first goal of care is to make sure that "the child will reside in a protected, safe environment" (p.50). They listed the critical factors fora safe environment of care as administrative understanding and commitment, environmental

(physical, policy, and protocol) factors, staffattitudes, clinical factors, and investigatory and incidental review process. They conclude that "[ o ]nee each child is safeguarded, the therapeutic programcan focuson other goals that enable a true healing process" (p.57).

This would hold true forchildren in any foster care placement, whether family fostercare or group care.

There are a number of implications for practice related. to what these youth had to say about moving and how safethey feel when they move that .,.vould meet the safety goals asserted by.Caldwell and Rejino. There remain systemic issues related to the practice of moving children multiple times while in out-of-home care that must be addressed. Although for the past thirty years legislative efforts have sought to bring more 64 expedient permanency plans for children that reduce the number of placements they

ex perience and the likelihood of being adrift in the system, there are still groups of

childr�n, like the ones in this study, who have yet to benefit from effective child welfare

practice meeting the standards of legislative ideals. To raise the bar forsuch practice,

child rights advocacy groups have been filing lawsuits to make state and local child

welfaresystems adhere to these legislative standards or pay large punitive feeswhen they failto do so.

The "Brian A." Settlement in Tennessee (Civil Action No. 3-00-0445) is one such case that has put set figureson reducing the number of placements in ':"hichchildren can be placed while in out-of-home care (see above). Contract providers in the state are

rearranging their service plans and resources to meet these standards rather than run the risk of losing contracted slots for services to children. Such reallocations include putting greater resources into family preservation programs, in-home services programs, and

developing more supportof community resources forat-risk children and their families while reducing the length of stay in residential placements. Too, more short-term

cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approaches are being used for children and youth in care as opposed to the longer process of traditional psychotherapy techniques.

In addition to these changes, agencies and programs serving children in residential treatment will need to develop programs that will allow children and youth to step-down in the intensity of care within the treatment model of the program rather than sending them to other placements with less intensive treatment programs. The same will be true of dealing with children who· exhibit more difficult behavior and emotional problems once they have entered a programby adapting the programto effectively deal with such 65 ·challenging issues within its existing structure and resources. 'Fhus highly specialized

programming may grow to be a thing.of the past as more andmore agencies be come

more ad, ept at caring for a wide range of children with a wide range of therapeutic needs.

The youth in this studyalso discussed their need to be in contact with familyas a

way to keep connected to them. Again, the Brian A. Settlement has set standards that

children in care only can be placed within a 75 rmle radius of their homes. This will help

facilitate more visits between children and their families. However, agencies and

programs can set treatment standards in place that allow children to be in contact with

their familiesat regularinterv als. This contact should not be based up_on the behavior of

the child nor upon their progress in the treatment program but should be a basic right of

each child (unless there arelegitimate protective mandates or therapeutic reasons as to

why such contact would not be beneficial to the child). Too, if a familyhas not

previously been a part of the decision to move children to another placement or if there is

an emergency move made forthe therapeutic benefitof the child, the familyshould be

notifiedwithin a set fewhours of the child's move, and the child should be able to have

phone contact with the familyupon arrival at the new placement. This practice-would

alleviate children's worryingabout whether their parents know where they are or not, and

it will help to connect them to the support of their familysystem in the midst of the stress

of a move.

Ideally, children should be given as much information as possible about an

impendin.g mo ve, whether itis perceived by the child as being a positive or a negative

move. This will give them time to mentally prepare for a move and give them time to

. have closure with the caregivers, foster siblings, and peers with whom they have 66 developed relationships. As importantly, the children should be given as much

informationas possible about the programto which they will be moved. This could come

fromcaregivers, however, peers who cangive a positive and realistic explanation about the new placement may be of more benefitto those who move. Specificinformation

about the location, layout, rules,routines, privileges, and programexpectations would

. help to alleviate fearand anxiety about the unknown aspects of .the environment to which

the child was moving. Itwould be an even greater benefitto the youth to have one or

more visits to the placement beforethey move in order to transition more slowly to the

new placementinstead of having an abrupttransit ion. Althoughthis seems more feasible

forthose moves considered to be positive, e.g., a step down in the level of care, such

visits also can be beneficialwhen there is a move to a more structured facility that will

better meet the therapeutic needs of the child. However, the chil� having some part in

this decision to move could ease even a difficult transition to a more structuredprogram.

Such decision-making adds to the sense of control that they have in the process and could help them to feelsafer in the transition. Zimmerman (1988) commented on some of these very practices as a way to give children a sense of control, which can attenuate the development of learnedhelplessness and depression:

Preplacement visits and the permitting of older fosterchildren to have an appropriate voice in determiningtheir living arrangement can be viewed as preventing the development of learned helplessness or as mitigating its effects, rather than as simply serving to develop trust and ease separation anxiety.. ..Even such seemingly simple social work tasks as listeningto and responding to the concerns of foster children by the familyand social worker let youngster know that they can by voice affectthe people who control major aspects of their lives. (p. 45) 67 As children leave a placement, it would be helpfulto have some ritual of closure or transition forthem, such as a "good-bye" group, in which the caregivers and peers offer encouragement and may even talk about positive aspects of the child who is leaving. Being invited to keep in contact with caregivers or peers, within set boundaries

(and if appropriate), or even to returnfor a visit could help them to retain a sense of positive connection(attachment) to the placement and the people that they have left.

Thus they will feelthat they have not been rej ected nor abandoned by those people.

Giving them an address book to collect telephone numbers, mailing addresses, and e-mail addresses as well as photos of the family, group, or caregivers with w�om they have lived could maintain this sense of connection, as well. However, once again, appropriate boundaries would need to be set formaking contact by the youth.

When chiidren arrive at a new placement, some kind ofwelcoming ritual may help them to feelthat they were walking into a place of care and hospitality and not a place that seems overtly coercive. Being introduced to the other youth, foster siblings, and caregivers will be important in helping them to feelmore comfortable about the new people with whom they will be living and working. A tour of the facility and, as stated above, an initial expianation of the rules, routines, privileges, and program expectations would help to alleviate fearand anxiety about the unknown aspectsof the environment to which the child was moving. This could come from a caregiver, however, it may be more beneficial fora youth who is the same age and relative size of the one whom has moved in to offer such a orientation. Ideally, it would come from someone that the child may already know who is in the same placement. 68 Beyond this initial welcoming and orientation into the new placement, the ethics andstructure of the treatment program should be one in which the children are protected, physically and emoti�nally, from physical assault and abuse both by other children in care and fromcaregivers. The physical layout of the program should be one in which physical oversight of children is optimal yet which is designed with sensitivity to their physical and psychoemotional privacy (Bailey, 2002). It also should be free from dangerous items �nd substances that children and youth could use to cause harm to themselves and others as well as from substances that they could use to self-medicate.

The ultimate protective factorthat givesc�ldren a sense of sa�ety, however, is the caregivers themselves. As stated above in the interview excerpts, the youth were able to det�ct which caregivers actually care forthem and are there to help them and which ones are there only for a job. Initial screening andhiring practices could help to chose caregivers who will best meet the therapeutic needs of the youth throughtheir relationships with them. Once appropriate caregivers are hired or recruited, then they should be well educated on topics including the developmental needs of children (with an emphasis on safety needs), the impact of abuse, neglect, separati?n and loss in the lives of children, and the role of therapeutic programming forchildren i""ii care. Also, they should be instructed on how to help children feel safeby setting up the physical and therapeutic environment for safety, supervising youth interactions, communicating with youth, and, most importantly, establishing trusting, therapeutic relationships with youth.

Beyond educating staff, they should be trained in skills that will help them to appropriately meet the developmental needs of children and to enact therapeutic techniques that will ultimately bring health to the lives of these children. As stated 69 above, the importanceof developing appropriate relationships with children within

appropriate boundaries should be an integral partof this education and training. Some

programshave taken a relational approach to treatment that has shown beneficial

outcomes with children in care, higher job satisfactionfor staff, and financialsavings for

the agency (Moore,Moretti, & Holland, 1998). However, education and training is of

little use unless there areapprop riate systems of support and supervisionof caregivers

(see Caldwell & Rejino, 1993). These systems must include structures of expectations

and accountability surrounding their interactions with the children and youth in there

care. Providing safeenvironments and interactions with others must �e one of the

hallmarks of this care.

Finally, assessing the safety needs of children in care could help caregivers to best

meet their needs. Such qualitative assessments could come through a review of the

. children's case histories or through therapeutic interviews of children. Unique plans for

care based on individual's history of abuse, neglect, abandonment issues, or other events

could be enacted with input from the children themselves. Safety plans may need to be

developed if self-destructive behavior or abusive behavior fromothers becomes a threat

to the physical and/ or psycho emotional safety of the children. For a quantitative

approach, a newly developed instrument, the Sense of Safety Scale, could be used as an

initial assessment of children's perception of safety when they.move into a new

placement. (See the Quantitative Study below foran explanation of the Sense of Safety

Scale.) 70 IV. Quantitative Study

The purpose of this section of the study was to establish further the validity and reliability of the Sense of SafetyScale (SOSS), which was designed by the researcher to measure the sense of safety of children and youth in out-of-home care. At the time of this writing, there are no known established instruments that measure children's and youths' sense of safety(see above forthe conceptualization of "sense of safety''). Having a high sense of safetyis a fundamentaldevelopmental need for children in general and is a particular therapeutic need forchildren in out-of-home care. (See the Qualitative Study above fora discussion of these safetynee ds.) A pilot study that inclu�ed the development and initial assessment of the SOSS was conducted by the researcher

(Bailey, 2001 ). A second wave of data were collected in this study to add to that obtained in the pilot study. Also, insights gained fromthe qualitative study on how youth in care explained safetyneeds was used to assess the content validity of this scale.

Pilot Study

The pilot study was conducted with a sample of 60 adolescent males who were in the residential treatment programs, group homes, independent living programs, and foster care homes of Holston United Methodist Home forChildren (HUMHC) in Greeneville,

TN. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of multiple relocations on child adjustment. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between the number of self-reported moves while in care and the youth's self-esteem, locus of control, behavioral problems, and sense of safety, while controlling for age, race, level of care, and time at present placement. There were no statistically significantfindings from 71 this analysis. However, the SOSS was found to have significantcorrelations to measures

of self-esteem (see below).

Development of the Sense of Safety Scale

Bailey (2001) developed the Sense of Safety Scale (SOSS) because, at the time of

the pilot study, there were no known instruments available to measure a child's sense of

physical and psychoemotional safety. This scale originally had twenty-two items that

assessed physical and psychoemotional safety both globally and in relation to the unique

situations and people in an out-of-home care environment, with responses ranging across

"always," "most of the time," "some of the time," and "never."

To provide information regarding the content validity of this scale, a question-sort

(Q-sort) was conducted witha panel of fiveexperienced service providers in the child

care/mentalhealth carefield. They included: a child psychiatrist (MD, Board Certified)

with.30 years experience; a therapist (MSW,LCSW) with 10 y�ars experience; a

therapist (M.Ed.;LPC), with 7 years experience; a therapist/director of community based

adolescent grouphomes (MSW, LCSW) with 12 years experience; and, a director of

family service programs(MSW, CMSW) with 9 years experience. There were two males

and three females.

Each participant, in an individual session, was given an instruction sheet that

directed him/ her to place small index cards, each containing a separate item, under three ' . largerindex cards which had the headings "Sense of Safety forChildren in Residential

Care," "Social Anxietyfor Children, " and "Other." On the larger card with the heading

"Sense of Safetyfor Children in Residential Care" was a conceptual definition that read:

"A sense of psychological and physical safety both globally and in relating to specific

...... 72 people, places, and situations in a residential care setting." Similarly, on the card with the heading "Social Anxietyfor Children" was a conceptual definitionthat read: �'The affect�ve, cognitive, andbehavioral aspects of the a child's sense of anxiety over both negative evaluation and social avoidance (one's willingness to approach others)" (Leary,

1991). The items on the small cards were to be placed.,.mder the heading and conceptual definition with which they best fit, and if an item did not fitwith either "Sense of Safety for Children in Residential Care" or "Social Anxiety for Children" it was to be placed under the card with the heading of"Other." There were 39 items on the individual small cards: the 22 that comprise the Sense of Safety Scale, the 10 that comprise the Social ·

Anxiety Scale forChildren (LaGreca, Dandes, Wick, Shaw, & Stone, 1988), and the.7 that comprise the Mastery Scale (Perlin& Schooler, 1978). After each participant completed sorting the items, the author followed up with questions about why items from their respective original scales were placed under different conceptual definitions or under "Other."

Table 1 shows the percent agreement among the participants in placing the items originally fromthe Sense of Safety Scale with its conceptual definition. Twelve of the original 22 items received 80 percent or above agreement and were kept forthe revised

Sense of Safety Scale. This Q-sort helped to support content validity forthe items that comprise the rev�sed Sense of Safety Scale and also helped to support discriminant validity between the concepts of a child's sense of safety when in out-of-home care and a child's social anxiety. 73

Table 1. Percent Agreement on Sense of Safety Scale.

Item Percent agreement

* 1. I feel safewhen I move to a new place. 80 *2. I feel safein my bedroom at night. · 100 3. I am afraid of my peers. 40 *4. I feel safe in .. my house/cottage. 100 5. I am afraidof getting my feelings hurt. 0 *6. I feel safeat my school. 100 *7. I am afraidof getting hurt. 100 *8. I fe el safearound adults. 100 9. I think that something bad will happen to me. 20 10. I look "over my shoulder''. 60 11. I have dreams of bad things happening to me. 40 12. I feel safe when I am by myself 20 13. I am afraid of dying. 20 14. I get scared easily. 40 * 15. I feel safearound staff. 1 100 16. I won't do anythingif there is a risk of getting hurt. 40 * 17. I feelsafe around my peers in my house/cottage. 2 100 18. I am afraidof adults. 60 3 * 19. I am afraidof some staff. 100 *20. I feel safegoing to sleep at night. 80 *21. I am afraidwhen I move to a new placement. 80 *22. I don't feel safewhen I don't know where I am 80 being �oved.

* = items with 80% or above agreement used forthe revised Sense of Safety Scale.

Note. 1 For the revised scale, item 15 will read: "I feelsafe around staff/my fosterparent(s).

2For the revised scale, item 17 will read: "I feel safearound my peers/fosterbrother(s) or sister( s)in my house."

3 For the revised scale, item 19 will read: "Iam afraidof some staff7my fosterparent (s). 74 It should be noted that the original scale and conceptualdefinition pertaine� to children who wer� specificallyin residential care. However, the revised scale includes changes in wording to three items, numbers 15, 1 7, and 19, so that they will be applicable to children in familyfoster care who participated in this study. (See the notation on the bottom of Table 1 forthe changes in wording.)

Pilot Study Sample Characteristics

Seventy-four (74) youth, all males, were asked to participate in this study, and 73 of the youth consented. One youth dropped out of the study. Data were collected from

72 youth. However, parental consent was not obtained forall the subjects who were legal minors, thus the final sample forwhich data were used was 60 (N= 60). Youth ranged in age from12 through 18 years (M = 15.15, SD = 1.62), with 51 (85%) being

European American and 9 (15%) being African American. They had experienced an average of 9.48 moves (SD = 5.78, range = 3-26) and had spent an average of 77.57 days at their present placements (SD = 84.10, range 1-390). One (1) participant was in traditional fostercare, two (2) were in therapeutic fostercare, three (3) of the participants were in an independent living program, nine (9) were in a community group home

(considered a Level 1 placement in the state of Tennessee), 29 were in residential treatment (Level2), and 16 were in intake and stabilization. One (1) participant fromthe pilot studywas interviewedfor the qualitative portion of this study. (See Table 2 fora comparison of the background variablesfor partic ipants in the pilot study, the second wave, and those interviewed forthe qualitative study.) Table 2. Comnarison of Background Variables.

Wave 1 (n=60) Wave 2 (n=30) Interviewed (n=l2) Overall (n=90)

· M (SD) [range] •. Age 15.15 (1.62) [12-18] 15.83 (1.82) [12-18] 15.83 (1.85) [13-18] 15.38 (1.71) [12-18]

Moves 9.48 (5.78) [3-26] 8.07 (3.74) [3-17] 9. 92 ( 4. 10) [ 4-17] 9.01 (5.31) [3-26]

Days 77.57 (84.10) [1-390] 94.03 (106. 18) [10-432] 128.92 (128.06) [17-432] 83.06 (91 .78) [1-432]

n (%) Race White 51 (85.0) 26 (86.7) 10 (83.3) 77 (85.6) AfricanAmerican 9 (15.0) 4 (13.3) 2 (16.7) 13 (14.4)

Level Foster Care 1 ( 1.7) I ( I.I) Ther. Foster Care 2 ( 3.3) 2 ( 2.2) Ind. Living 3 ( 5.0) 3 (10.0) 2 (16.7) 6 ( 6.7) Group Home (Lv. l) 9 (15.0) 7 (23 .3) 1 ( 8.3) 16 (17.8) Res. Treatment (Lv.2) 29 (48.3) 15 (50.0) 4 (33.3) 44 (48.9) Res. Treatment (Lv.3) 5 (16.7) .5 (4 1.7) 5 ( 5.6) Intake/Stabilization 16 (26.7) 16 (17.8)

----l Vl

? 76 Data on SOSS from Pilot Study

In the pilot study, the mean score on the SOSS was 35.93 (SD = 6.52, range = 16-

47; N = 59). The SOSS showed a significant correlation of r = .33 (.g < .05) with the

Self-Esteem Inve�tory (SEI) and of r = .35 (Q < .05) with the Self-Esteem Scale.

The SOSS did not, however, show significant correlations with other instruments used in the study namely, the Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale for Children

(CNSIE), the Mastery Scale, and the Child Behavior Checklist Youth Self Report (YSR)

Total Problem Behavior.

Cronbach's alpha forthis sample was .83 (n = 60). The instrument was administered again at an interval of one month to 24 of the original participants.

Cronbach's alpha forthis retest was .86 (n = 24). A correlation forthe test-retest scores was .76 (Q< .01).

Second Wave Data Collection

Method

Human subiects approval. Approval foryouth fromthis agency to participate in this study was grantedby the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of

Tennessee, Knoxville, the Human Rights Committee of HUMHC, Art Masker,

President/CEO ofHUMHC, and the State of Tennessee's Department of Children's

Service (see Appendix B).

Data collection and storage. As in the pilot study, the various assessment instruments we;� administeredand background information was collected at the on campus school and residential houses ofHUMHC. On an individual basis, the subjects were asked to supply backgroundin formation: age, race, number of moves while in out- 77 of-home care, time at present placement (in number of days), and level of care ( see below).

. Each instrument was marked with a number to identifyeach participant so as to protect the identity of the participants, and a master list of the names of the participants and their respective identification numbers was kept by the researcher. After completing the instruments, the participants placed them in manila envelopes and returned them, to the researcher.

The completed instruments, the recorded background information, and the master list with the subjects' names and identificationnumbers will be kept i� the researcher's home, under lock and key. The master list is kept separately fromthe completed instruments and background information. The data will be stored forup to eight years, in case such research could be used forfurther research that might be published, and then destroyed in the year 2011.

Sample characteristics. Thirty (30) new cases were sought to add to the 60 cases of the pilot study. The sample in the second wave, like that of the pilot study, was a purposive sample of adolescent males who are in out-of-home care in the family foster care, residential, group home, and independent living programs ofHUMHC. The participants were between the ages of 12 and 18 (M= 15.83, SD = 1.82), with 26 (86.7%) being White and four(4) (13.3 %) being AfricanAmerican. They had experienced an average of 8. 07 moves (SD = 3.7 4, range = 3-17) andhad spent an average of 94. 03 days at their present placements (SD = 106. 18, range 10-432. Three (3) of the participants were in an independent living program, 7 .were in a community group home ( considered a

Level 1 placement in the state of Tennessee), 15 were in Level 2 residential treatment, 78 and 5 in Level 3 residential treatment. All of the participants interviewed participated in

the quantitatiye.s�dy, as well. Eleven (11) participants fromthis second wave were

inte�iewed forthe qualitative portion of the study (see Table 2).

Participation in this studywas voluntary, as indicated by the participant's

signature on an "Informed Assent" form(see Ap pendix A) . Participants who were legal

minors were able to participate only if their parents or legal guardians give permission, as

indicated by the appropriate signatures on the "Parent/Guardian Informed Consent" (see

Appendix A). Parental/Guardian consent forparticipation in research is required by the

agency's status as a contract provider forservices with the State of Te�nessee and by the

accreditation standards of the Council of Accreditation (COA) of Services forFamilies

and Children, Inc. Participants who completed all the instruments were given a giftof a

two-liter softdi-ink as a giftfor their participation.

Overall Sample Characteristics

The overall sample used in ascertainingthe reliability and validity of the SOSS is

a combination of the sample fromthe pilot study (n = 60) and that fromthe second wave

of data collection (n = 30). The overall sample size is 90 (N= 90). Youth ranged in age

from 12 through 18 years (M = 15.38, SD = 1.71), with 77 (85.6%) being European

Americanand 13 ( 14.4 %) being African American. They had experienced an average of

9.01 moves (SD = 5.31, Mdn = 7.50, range = 3-26) and had spent an average of 83.06

days at their present placements (SD = 91.78, range 1-432). One (1) participant was in traditional fostercare, two (2) were in therapeutic fostercare, si� (6) of the participants were in an independent living program, 16 were in a community group home ( considered a Level 1 placement in the state of Tennessee), 44 were in Level 2 residential treatment, 79 five( 5) were in �evel 3 residential treatment, and 16 were in intake and stabilization.

Twelve (12) participants were interviewed forthe qualitative portion of the study (see

Table 2).

Scales

Three of the measurement scales selected to correlate with the SOSS are well

established instruments used in research with both clinical and non-clinical populations . . of children and .youth. The other measure, the semantic differential, was developed by the researcherfrom information gained in the qualitative portion of the study. The

instruments represent the constructs of self-esteem, locus of control, i�temalized and

externalized behavior problems, and perceptions of moving while in care. (See Appendix

G :fo r a copy of the respective instruments.)

Self-esteem. Chubb and Fertman (1997) used Harter's definition of self-esteem

as being "'how much a person likes, accepts, andrespects himself [sic] overall as a

person"' (p. 1 14). In their review of the literature, they cited studies on adolescents that

formed a correspondence between adolescent low self-esteem and low life-satisfaction, loneliness, anxiety,resentment, irritability, and depression. High self-esteem correlated

positively with academic success, internallocus of control, and a positive sense of self

attractiveness.

In looking at the impact of group psychotherapy as a therapeutic technique in treating children and adolescents in residential treatment, Winek and Faulkner (1994) stated that in addition to the children and adolescents being labeled with psychopathologiesranging frombor derline personality, depression, and hyperactive to antisocial and psychotic, all share an impairment to their ego development andlo w self- 80 esteem. Gardner (1971) believed that all psychopathological symptomology "contain

attempts to compensate forlow self-esteem" (p. 516) and went so farto say that "'one of

the purposes of treatment is to enhance the patient's self esteem because low self-esteem

"' is at the root of practically every psychogenic problem (in Winek & Faulkner, 1994, p.

119).

Kazdin, Mosure, Colbus, and Bell (1985) found that physically-abused children

showed more depression and lower self-esteem· than did non-abused children. Other

studies showed that children in out-of-home care have lower self-esteem than do children .

in comparative groups (Kools, 1997; Maxwell, 1992; Simmons & W�inman, 1991).

At the time of this writing, there are no known studies that relate self-esteem to

sen�e of safety forchildren in out-of-home care. However, using Maslow's (1970)

theory of the hierarchical motives forhuman behavior and development as a basis, it

would followth�t a higher sense of safetywould allow for the development of a higher

sense of self-esteem. It was hypothesized, then, that the level of �ense of safety for

adolescents in care would have a positive relationship to their level of self-esteem.

Self-esteem was measured by using the Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (SES)

(see Appendix D). [The Self-Esteem Inventory was dropped fromthe second wave of

data collection because the SES had a higher correlation in the pilot study and because it

would reduce the number of instruments that the participants had to complete.]

Blascovich and Tomaka(19 91) described the Self-Esteem Scale (SES), developed by

Rosenberg (1965). as a measure that assesses adolescents' global feelingsof self-worth or

self-acceptance. Itis a ten-item scale that uses a four-point response format, ranging

. from "stronglyagree" to "strongly disagree." Scores range from 10 to 40, with higher 81 scores representing higher self-esteem. Itoriginally was . developed using 5024 high school juniors and seniors fromten New York Statehigh schools.

The reliability forthis scale was moderately high, with Cronbach alpha ranging from.7 7 to .88. Test-retest correlations were .85 for28 subjects aftertwo weeks and .82 for259 males and females afterone week. Convergent validity has been established at a correlation of .65 with confidence, of .72 with the Lerner Self-Esteem Scale, of .55 with the Coopersmith SEI, and of . 78 with general self-regard. Inverse relationships have been foundwith anxiety at -.64 and withdepression at -.54. Discriminant validity was established by finding no significant correlations with grade point ave�ages (.10), locus of control (-.04), gender (.10) and age (.01). Blaskovich and Tomaka commented that the

SE� has had widespread use as a unidimensional measure of self-esteem and oftenis used to evaluate other measures. However, one drawback is that social desirability might bias scores.

In this study Cronbach's alpha was .79, indicating good internal consistency.

' . (See Findings formeans scores, distribution statistics, andreliabilities forthe scales).

Locus of control. Chubb and Fertman (1992) definedlocus of control as:

... the generalized expectance of reinforcement as either internal or external to the self. Internal locus of control is definedas the expectation that reinforcement will be the iesult of one's own effort; ability, characteristics, or behavior. External locus of control is the expectation that reinforcement will be the result of chance, fate, luck, or powerful others (p. 389).

They cited studie� showing that aninternal locus of control correlates with such outcomes as staying in high school, taking responsibility foron e's own actions, being more independent, exhibitinggreater self-control, reduced anxiety, the ability to defer 82 gratification, and positive adjustment in relationships. Lefcourt (1982) examined

numerous empirical studies and field observations that showed how an internal locus of

control, whether real or perceived, moderated the effects of various stressfuland adverse

experiences by g�ving people a sense of control over or power within the stressfuland

adverse situations.

McIntyre (19 91) found th at adolescents in foster care had a more externallocus of

control than did those raised in their own homes, when controlling forverbal IQ. One

study of adolescents in a youth emergency shelter foundth at they have a more external

locus of control when compared to other groups (Simmons & Weinm�n, 1991 ). In

looking at the relation between peer rejection and internalizing problem behaviors for

children in foster care, McIntyre, Lounsbury, Berntson, and Steel (1988) suggested that

such behaviors "may be an emotional manifestation of vulnerability to events beyond

one's (fe lt) control" (p. 135). An earlier study of adolescents in a psychiatric residential

treatment programsh owed th at internal locus of control and severity of psychiatric illness

are negatively correlated, controlling for age and length of treatment (Friedman,

Goodrich, & Fullerton, 1985).

At the time of this writing, there are no known studies linking sense of safety and

locus of control forchi ldren in out-of-home care. However, it was postulated that if

adolescents in care have a greater sense of control (i .e., internal locus of control) th at

brings about reduced anxiety and a positive adjustment in relationships,then they will feela greater sense of safety when moving between placements. Therefore,it was

hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between internallocus of control

and a higher sense of safety. 83 Locus of control was measured by a_dministering the Nowicki-Strickland Internal-

External Control Scale forChil dren (CNSIE) (see Appendix G). (The Mastery Scale was

dropped fromthe second wave of data collection to reduce the number of instruments that the participants had to complete.) The CNSIEis ·a 40-item test having a "Yes-No" response to measure a child's sense of internalversus external control. A higher score indicates a more external sense of control and a lower score indicates a more internal

sense of control.

Lefcourt(19 91) stated that internal consistency using the Spearman-Brown split half reliability correlation ranged from.6 3 to .81, whereas Cronbach'� alpha forvarious samples ranged from.6 4 to .91. Test-retest reliabilities ranged from.7 6 at fiveweeks and .63 at nine months to .52 over a year. Convergent validity was foundby moderate correlationwith the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire in the I+ category, with the Bailer-Cromwell Scale, and with achievement, measured by the SAT,

CTEB, CAT, and grade point average. Nonsignificant relationships have been found with IQ scores and other measure of intelligence. The CNSIEhas been used in several studies of children in out-of-home care and would allow forcompa risons with these studies of this population.

Cronbach's alpha was .69 in this study, indicating adequate internalconsistency.

(See Findings).

Behavioral problems. Children placed in out-of-home care oftenexhibit behavioral problems and have significant mental health issues. A study by Heflinger,

Simpkins, andCom bs-Orme (2000) on the use of the Child Behavior Checklist to assess the clinical status of children in state custody foundthat an estimated 34 percent of 84 children in Tennessee state custody had significant behavior problems. However, they writethat these ·results likely under- represent the amount of mental health problems in the population of children in state custody. In their review of the literature on the rate of mental health problems for children in out-of-home care,they conclude that " ... a number of studies· have confirmed that foster children hav� more mental health problems than the general population based on indications in agency records and clinical judgment and interviews ... service utilization data .. . and various standardized measures" (p. 56).

Such mental health and behavioral problems can result from family instability, trauma of separ3:tion frombirth parents, abuse, neglect, reaction to bei!1g in out-of -home care, genetic causes, or any combination of these factors (Cantos, Grie s, & Slis, 1996;

Pugh et al., 1997). Those placed in psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment facilities, and therapeutic foster homes are placed there primarily forthe management and treatment of such behavioral problems, including aggression, violence, disruptive and bizarre actions, delinquency, drug abu se, school problems, run-�ways, social withdrawal, depression, and other mental health issues (Cantos et al, 1996; Davis & Boster, 1993;

Forand, 1999; Larson, Calamari, West, & Frevert, 1998; Pugh, et al, 1997; Seelow,

1993; Zimmerman, 1990). In short, these children are labeled as having emotional and behavior disturbances (Reddy & Pfeiffer, 1997). Such disturbances also can be the result of trauma caused by the experiences in out-of-home care placement settings, including multiple placements (Cantoset al., 1996).

At the time of this writing,there are no known studies linking sense of safety and internalizing and externalizing behavior problems for children in out-of-home care .

However, it is postulated that behavior problems in children in out-of-home care could be 85 related to their lack of feeling safe. Externalizing problem behavior could be a mode of

self-protection in a maladaptive way. Similarly, internalizing problems could be a form

of self-preservation through withdrawal or could be related to the anxiety of not feeling

safe. Therefore, it was hypothesized that children who have more internalizing and

externalizing behavior problems will have a lower sense of safety.

Present internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were measured with

Achenbach's (1991) Youth Self Report (YSR) (see Ap pendix G), which is co mpatible with the Child Behavioral Check List (CBCL). Although the entire YSR was used in the pilot study, only the Internalizing and Externalizing domains of �he Y�R was used in the

second wave of �ata collection and in the finaldata analysis. (This was done to reduce the nu mber of items that the participants had to complete.)

These Internalizing and Externalizing domains are comprised of 61 of the original

112 items from the YSR. The Internalizing domain is comprised of the Withdrawn,

Somatic Complaints, and the Anxious/Depressed syndrome _ scales, and the Externalizing domain is comprised of the Delinquent Behavior and Ag gressive Behavior syndrome

scales. [Item #10 3 is used in both the Withdrawn �nd Anxious/Depressed syndromes.

Ho wever, since it is to be counted only once in the Internalizing score, it will be used only in the Withdrawn syndrome (Achenbach, 1991).]

Achenbach (1991) described the YSR as an instrument that is designed to obtain . .. 11- to 18- year-old's self reports of their own competencies and problems. The instrument begins with some open-ended questions about the youth's interests and self assessments. These are followed by 112 statements with a response scale of "Not True,"

"Somewhat or Sometimes True," and "Very True or OftenTrue." Some of these 86 statements also ask foradditional informationto be written in by the respondent. The

YSR assesses problem syndromes, such as Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints,

Anxious/Depressed, Social Problems, Thought Problems, Attention Problems,

Aggressive Behavior, Delinquent Behavior, and scores other issues such a� Internalizing behavioraVemotiona�l problems, ExternalizingbehavioraVemoti ?nal problems, Total Problems as wellas assesses competencies forActivi ties, Social competencies, and Total

Competence.

Achenbach (1991) stated that test-retest reliability over seven days forthe competence scaleswas r = .68 for 11- to 14-year-olds and r = .82 for 15- to 18-year-olds

(n = 50). Over seven days, the comparison of the problem scales was r = .65 for11 - to

14-year-olds and r = .83 for 15- to 18-year-olds. On the Total Problems scores, reliability

' ' was foundto be r = .70 for 11- to 14-year-olds and r = .91 for 15-to 18-year-olds. Over seven months, mean stability was foundto be r = .50 forcompe tence scales, r = .49 for problem scales, r == .62 fortotal competence, and r = .56 fortotal problems in a non clinical sample of fl- to 14-year-olds. In a clinical samples of l2- to 17-year olds, over six months r = . 69 fortotal problem scores. The alpha formean scale scores of matched samples of clinicallyreferred and non-referredboys (n = 536) was .95 on TotalProblems.

Commenting on the validity ofthe CBCL, Furlong and Wood (1998) stated that it has been correlatedwith other related instruments, such as the. Conners' Parent Rating

Scale and the Quay Problem Behavior Checklist. Discriminant validity has been shown in correctly classifyingclinically "referred" and "non-referred" groups by using the Total

Problems and Social Competence scores 95 percent of the time when Total Problems T- scores are above 7 5. 87 Furlong and Wood went on to say that the CBCL scale is one of the most used in .. the world forasse�sing children's and adolescents'· problem behaviors and is the standard by wlµch other similar scales are compared. However, they cautioned that the Social. Competence portion needs some work because it measures low competencies more accurately than high competencies.

In this study, internal consistency was high on the domains and the syndrome scales. The InternalizingDomain had a Cronbach's alpha of .91. The Withdrawn sub scale had a Cronbach's alpha was .69. The Somatic Complaints sub-scale had a

Cronbach's alpha of .79. The Anxious/Depressedsu b-scale had a Cr�nbach's alpha of

.87. The ExternalizingDomain had a Cronbach's alpha of .93. The Delinquent Behavior sub-scale had a Cronbach's alpha of .82. The Aggressive Behavior sub-scale had a

Cronbach's alpha of .91. AllCronbac h's alphas were higher forthis study than those reportedby Achenbach (1991) for53 6 clinically referred adolescent boys. (See

Discussion fora comparison of raw score means and reliabilites between these two studies.)

Semantic diffe rential. A semantic differentialwas developed by the researcher based upon the themes constructed from the analysis of the qualitative interviewsrelated to multiple relocations and safety(see above). (See Appendix G.) It was composed of twelve (12) items of opposite phrases related to moving while.in out-of-home care and sense of safety. Although traditional semantic differentials are composed of items containing a set of opposite words, this semantic differential used short phrasesto better meet the understanding and readability level of the participants instead of using more complex single-word sets. The scores on this semantic differential could range froma 88 low of 12 to a high of 84. A lower score would indicate that the participant felt more worried or anxious about moving and/or less safe and a higher score would indicate the participant felt less worried or anxious about moving and/or safer.

A semantic differential, originally developed by Osgood (Osgood, Suci, &

Tannenbaum, 1957), asks respondents to choose between two opposite semantic positions

(or dimensions) by selecting Likert-type response indicators between the opposites

(Babbie, 1998). Instead of using verbal indicators, such as a range between "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree," the semantic differential had a series of seven indicator circles between the opposing terms of a given dimension or semantic �pace. This allows fora niorespatial/kine sthetic response to the opposing terms rather than a more cognitive response. Put differently, the respondent was able to respond on how closely he feltto one term over another.

Because the semantic differential was based upon the experiences of those interviewed about moving while in out-of-home care and theirresulting sense of safety, it will hold an inherent content validity. It also could establish a link of construct validity between the contentof the interviews and the SOSS and other s�ales, because it establishes the measurability of the concepts and traits of the participants related to the issues of moving and safetythat have been gained by the interviews (Brewer & Hunter,

1989).

The internal consistency of this scale was low, with a Cronbach's alpha of .48.

Background Variables

The participants' age, race, self-reported number of moves, number of days at present placement, and present level of care were recorded as background data for this 89 study in order to see if there were any differences in perceived sense of safetybase d upon any of these vari�bles.·

. Age. Each subject's age was be obtained by asking the subjects forthis informationand recorded in number of years.

Race. The subjects were categorized as either AfricanAmerican or White. These categoriesreflect the racial demographics of the population available forthis study.

Number of moves. "Number of moves" signifiedthe number chimes that a youth has moved to different placements while in out-of-home care. This denotes moves to foster homes (regular,therapeuti c, emergency, and state recognized_ kin care), residential treatment facilities, group homes, psychiatric hospitals, wilderness programs, emergency shelters, run-awayshelters, assessment centers, and detention centers. Moves to placements th�t are considered to be short term and more custodial than treatment oriented in nature, such as emergency shelters, run-away shelters, assessment centers, and detention centers were included because a stay in such a placement for even a day or a week can have an impact on a child's adjustment while in out-of-home care and beyond.

(In some treatment facilities, children are moved to different rooms or different wings of a building; however, t�ese "moves" were not counted. Moves forrespite care were not counted, as well.) This number was obtained by asking the subjects how many different placements they had moved to while in out-of-home care.

Days at ppesent placement. The variable"days at present placement" was based upon the subject's date of entry forcare in the specificprograms ofHUMHC(as recorded in the subject's case history)and was recorded in number of days. For example, although a subject may have been in the care of HUMHCfor one year, but moved from 90 residential care to a group home only60 days ago, this latter number of days was recorded as the "days at present placement." Most of the youth could not recall the exact day of entry to their present placement, so this information was obtained fromtheir case histories.

Present level of care. The present placement level was gained by asking the youth in which program they resided. The followinglevels of care have been denoted: familyfoster care, ·therapeutic familyfoster care, independent living, group home care

(Level 1), residential treatment (Level 2 and Level 3), and intake/stabilization.

Findings

Scale Distributions

The distributions forthe scales can be found in Table 3. All but two of the mean scores on the individual syndrome scales and the two larger domains were higherthan those reportedby Achenbach (1991) for 536 clinically referred adolescent boys. (See

Discussion.)

SOSS. Pearson's product-moment correlations (r) (two-tailed) were used to analyze the relationship between the SOSS and the scale-level background variables and the other instrutnents. (See below for correlations among background variables and scales.) There were no significant correlations between the SOS_S and the background variables of number of moves, age, and days at present placement. One-way ANOVAs foundthat there were no significant differences of mean test scores on the SOSS based upon either race CE[1, 88] = 1.00, Q = .32) or level of care (E [6,83] = 1.00, n = .43).

There were significant correlations with the SOSS and fourof the established scales. There was a moderate, positive relationship with the SES, r = .40 (n < .001). 91

Table 3. Scale Means2 Distributions2 and Reliabilities. (N=90)*

Scale M Mdn Mode SD Range Cl

,, Sense· of Safe ty Scale 35.88 36.5 39 6.71 32 [16-48] .84

Self-esteem Scale 29.81 30.0 30 4.63 25 [15-40] .79

Nowick-Strickland 15.20 15.0 15 5.08 26 [2-28] .69

YSR

Internalizing 17.13 15.0 13" 10.54 50 [0-50] .91

Withdrawn 4.69 4.5 5 2.77 12 [0-12] .69

Somatic 4.46 4.0 1 3.48 12 [0-12] .79

Anxious/Depressed 7.99 7.0 5 5.95 30 [0-30] .87

Externalizing 22.63 20.5 26 11.82 54 [4-58] .93

Delinquent Behavior 8.27 8.0 8 4.65 19 [1-20] .82

AggressiveBe havior 14.37 13.5 8" 8.10 37 [1-38] .91

Semantic Differential* 45.11 44.0 49" 7.86 25 [33-58] .48 /\Mul tiple modes. Smallest number represented. · Note: * N = 90 forall the scales except forthe Semantic Differential, where n = 28. 92 There also was an. inverse relationship with the CNSIE, r = -.24 (12< .05). For the

domains and syndrome scales of the YSR, there was an inverse relationship with the

Internalizing domain, r = -.27 W < .05), and there was a moderate, inverse relationship with the Anxious/Depressedsyndrome scale of that domain, r = -.33 (,Q. < .01). (See

Table 4.)

Other variables and scales. As expected, there were significant correlations foundbe tween all the established scales (see Table 4). Other significant correlations to

note include a moderate, positive relationship between number 'ofmoves and age, r = .35

(,Q.< .01). Age also was found to be inversely related to both the CNS�, r = -.30 (n <

.01), and the Somatic syndrome scale, r = -.22 (,Q.< .05). The Semantic Differential was correlated withage, r = .38 (n < .05). Finally, days at present placement was foundto have a positive relationship with the Withdrawn syndrome scale, r = .21 (n < .05).

Missing data. Raw scores fromthe instruments used to assess child adjustment indicators were used forall the analyses of data. In Wave 1, there were little missing data, and there appeared to be no systematic bias in the items that were leftbl ank. For items leftbla nk on the YSR, the value of "O" was given, which would give a more conservative representation of the presence ofbehavior problems. Missing data on the other instruments consisted of two (2) items leftbl ank on one p·�rticipant' s SOSS and a total of 5 items leftbla nk on the CNSIE among the 60 participants. Because these seven item� accounted foronly .2% -of the total items on these two instruments, the means for each item where data were missing were used to replace the missing answers. In Wave 2, Table 4 . Correlations Among Background Variables and Scales.

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1. Moves �- Age .35** 3. Days .02 .31 ** 4. Sense of Safety Scale .01 .03 .00 5. Self-esteem Scale -.05 -.03 -. 12 .40** -- 6. Nowicki-Strickland -. 17 -.30** .06 -.24* -.36** -- 7. Internalizing .05 -.08 .17 -.27* -.50** .46** 8. Withdrawn .01 .09 .21 * -.18 -.41 ** .42** .80** 9. Somatic Complaints . 12 -.22* . 10 -. 10 -.25* .42** .79** .48** 10. Anxious/Depressed .01 -.05 . 1 5 -.33** -.54** .38** .94** .67** .59** 11. Externalizing .08 .02 .08 -.03 -.29** .37** .71 ** .61** .54** .67** 12. Delinquent Behavior .14 .12 -.01 .11 -.22* .26* .5 1 ** .52** .35** .46** .87** 13. AggressiveBehavior .03 -.04 .12 -.1 1 -.30** .39** .75** .59** .58** .71 ** .96** .70** 14. Semantic Differential . 1 5 .38* .04 .13 -.20 .02 -.21 .16 -.33 -.1 9 .05 .34 -.11

R<.05 **R<.01

\0 u.> 94 there were no missing data.

Only 28 of the 30 participants in Wave 2 completed the Semantic Differential.

One participantmoved and could not be located in order to administer the scale, and

another participant failedto return a completed scale (even afterrepeated requests).

Discussion

Comparison to Other Studies Using The Established Instruments

Overall, the mean scores in this study were co�parableto scores foundin other

studies that used the same established scales with similar populations.

SES. Mean scores on the SES was found to be comparableto _another study using

this scale with adolescents in residential treatment. A quasi-experimental study

con.ducted by Lindsey (1975) of adolescents in a mental hospital (n = 24) (50% males),

foundSES mean scores of28.67 (SD = 2.64) and 27.67 (SD = 4.21) on pre-tests fora

experimental and control group, respectively. Post-testmean scores forthese groups,

afterthe experimental group attended groups on self-reflectiveinqui ry, were 33 .17 (SD =

3.54) forthe experimental group and 26.17 (SD = 4.06) forthe control group.

CNSIE. The study in which the CNSIE was developed (see Lefcourt, 1991)

reportedmean� fora non-clinical ·sample of males in each grade from6 through 12. The

average of the mean scores for those combined grades was 13 .20 (n = 372), which, as

expected, showed a greater sense of internal locus of control for that sample than was

found for this sample. In a studyconducted with youth in an emergency shelter, boys age

· 9-17 years (n = 45) scored a mean of 19.34 (SD = 7.16) on the CNSIE (Simmons &

Weinman, 1991). Another study of at-risk African-Americanadolescents (n = 64)

showed a means score of 15.64 (SD = 4.53) on the CNSIE(Wood, Hillman, & 95 Sawilowsk:y, 1996). This latter study showed comparable score to those foundin this sample.

YSR- Internalizing and externalizing domains. Scores on the Internalizing and

Externalizing �?mains of the YSR and their respective syndrome scales were generally comparable, though slightly higher, with those reportedby Achenbach (1991) forthe referred group of adolescent males used in his study. Table 5 shows a comparison of mean scores fromthis sample and those fromAchenb ach's study.

Reliabilityand Validity

The high score on the Cronbach's alpha forthe SOSS forthis overall sample shows that it has a high reliability. Moderate and highalphas on the other scales used in

Table 5. Comparison of Means on Raw Scores and Relaibilities Between this Sudy and Achenbach's.

This Study(N=90) Achenbach (N=536) M SD a M SD !!

Internalizing 17.13 10.54 .91 16. 1 9.9 .89

Withdrawn 4.69 2.77 .69 4.8 2.7 .59

Somatic 4.46 3.48 .78 3.6 3.4 .77

. Anxious/Depressed 7.99 5.95 .87 8.2 6.1 .86 Externalizing 22.63 11.82 .93 17.3 9.6 .89

Delinquent Behavior 8.27 4.65 .82 5.4 . 3.7 .76

AggressiveBe havior 14.37 8.10 .91 11.8 6.9 .86 96 this study shows that there was a high degree of consistency in the responses across all the scales, which adds to the robustness of the reliability measure of the sass.

Because no significantcorrelations were foundbetween the mean scores on the sass and the backgroundvariables of age, number of reportedmoves, and number of days at present placement, the measure was found to be consistent across the different age groups, those with higher and lower numbers of moves, and the length of time youth had been at their present placement. Non-significant findings forANaV A' s on the mean scores and the sass for race and level of care also showed that there were no group difference on these scores for White and African-American youth nor °for those in different levels of care. Thus this measure was stable across all background variables that were identifiedin this study, which adds to the potential utility of this scale.

The positive correlations found between the sass and the established scales helped to establish the construct validity of the sass. The correlationwith the SES showed that there is a positive relationship between higher levels of self-esteem and higher levels of sense of safety. This helped to establish construct validity with self- . . esteem. Although Maslow' s (1970) theory holds that safetyneeds must be met before belonging and self-esteem needs can be met, no causal relationships can be drawn from this study.

The ne�ati�e correlation between the sass and the CNSIE showed that those participants with a more internallocus of control had a higher sense of safety. This helped to establish construct validity between sense of safetyand locus of control.

Again, no causal relationshipscan be determined fromthis finding. 97 Similarly,the negative correlation between the SOSS and the overall score on the

Internalizingdomain of the YSR and with the Anxious/Depressedsyndrome scale within

that d9main showed that there inverse relationship between sense of safety and internalizingpro�lems, and in particularbeing anxious and depressed. Such a

re�ationship indicated that those participants who had fewer internalizing problems, and

in particular, who felt less anxious and depressed, had a higher sense of safety. This helped to establish construct validity between sense of safetyand internalizing problems in general and the syndrome of anxiety and depression, more specifically. Overall, the

SOSS was found to be both a reliable and valid measure of adolescent males' sense of

physical and psychoemotional safety forthe sample studied.

However, information gained from the qualitative study of youth's perceptions of safetyrelating to moving between placements indicates that the SOSS scale, as it stands, is not specific enough in some areas and lacking in others. More items could be added to the scale to encompass more fullythe safety concerns of children and youth in care. For example, base� upon youth stating that they were sometimes afraidof the negative behavior of other youth, item 5 of the SOSS, which presently states, "I am afraid of getting hurt," could be expanded to read, "I am afraid of getting hurt by my peers"

[supplemental item A]. Along these lines, item 9, which presently states, "I am afraidof my staff/my foste{parent(s)," could be worded to specificallyexplore youths' feelings about their physical safetywith caregivers; it could be amended to state, "I am afraidof getting hurt by my staff/myfoster parent(s)" [supplemental item B].

Anitem that assesses youths' need forinformation about the program rules and expectations could be added to the scale based upon the youth interviewed stating that 98 they feel safer when they know what to expect about the placement rules and routines.

This new item could be worded, "I feelsafe when I know the rules and routine of the house/unit/foster home" [ supplemental item C].

Finally, based upon youths' responses to being sepru-ated fromtheir familiesas being a difficulty of being in care, an item could explore how safeyouth feelwhen they are away from their families. A new item could be worded, "I feel afraid when I am away from my family" [supplemental item D].

Use of the SOSS

The SOSS is the onlyknown instrument that specificallyasses�es the sense of safety foryouth in out-of-home care. As stated above, helping youth to fe el safeis crucial to their developmental and therapeutic progress. This scale, then, could be used along with other instruments to assess youth upon entering a new placement. The initial assessment could indicate specific areasin which youthfeel unsafe, such as in the physical environment(e. g., items 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11), with caregivers (e.g., items 5, 6, 7, 9, supplemental item B), with peers ( e.g., item 8, supplemental item A), not having information(e. g., items 1, 12, supplemental item C), and being away from family (e.g., supplemental item D). Items which have low scores could be used as points of informationwith a treatment team and caregivers in order to give them specificareas in which to bolster a sense of safety forthe youth. On the other hand, consistently high scores across the items could indicate that either the youth feel safe or they could be defensiveand posturing pseudo-maturity or pseudo-independence. This scale, however, should not be used alone as a sole indicator of youths' issues regarding safety. Only in conjunction with other established instruments and therapeutic interviewscan such 99 determinations be made with accuracy. Finally, this scale could be used as a pre-

test/post-testto see if a sense of safetyhas increased withthe youth as a result of the

therapeutic efforts of the caregivers.

The better use of this scale, however, might be to facilitate a therapeutic interview

with the youth. Aft�rthe youth fillsout the scale, a therapist or experienced, well-trained caregiver could go over each item with the youth and ask them to elaborate on their answers. This could be a springboard to gaining more detailed information about both

their historiesand what they need, on an individual basis, to feel safein that placement.

Limitations

The limitations of thisstudy must be considered, especially those having to do

wit� the sample. Because only adolescent males were being used in this study, any generalizations about scores on the SOSS can be made only to other adolescent males in out-of-home care. Also, the level of care of these participants is another concern.Most were in a higher level of fostercar e, namely, residential facilities, when they took part in this study. Thus any comparisons·can only be made with populations in a similar level of care. The small °:umber of participants in the study (N= 90) is another limitation. A fuller

exploration of the reliability and validity of this scale would need to be made with pre adolescents, females,and a greater number of subjects, particularly those who reside in family fostercare . Such expansions to the sample would give.more robust findingson the reliability and validity of this scale.

Although it would be tempting to draw causal relationships between children's sense of safety and other constructs with which it correlated, no such relationships can be 100 determined fromthis study. A longitudinal studywould be the -most effective means of establishing such causal relationships.

Need forMore Research

To reiterate comments made in the Qualitative Discussion Section (see above), more research, both quantitative and qualitative is needed to fullyund erstandthe complexity and contributing factors,bo th individual and ecological, to these children's sense of safety and how it best can be assessed. Using both these methods of research will give a broader, deeper, and more valid understanding of the experiences and perceptions of children and youth in care. Future research using this s�ale could help fostercare staffand fosterparents betterunderstand and meet the safetyneeds of children and youth in the� care. Also, futureresearch using the original'SOSS as a base could add the supplemental items named above in order to assess a broader range of safetyissues forthese children and youth. Ultimately, however, the goal is not only to assess their experiences and perceptions, but it is to use these assessments to achieve more developmentally appropriate and therapeutically successfulmetho ds of care forthem while they are in out-of-home care. 101 V. Summary

In this study, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to assess the sense

of safetythat youth feel when they are moved between placements while in out-of home

· care in order to gain a greaterbreadth and depth of informationabout these safetyneeds than could be gained by using one method alone. Although this is a specific scope in looking at safety, broader implications forunderstanding the safetyneeds of children and youth in out-of-home care, in general, and not just related to moving, can be drawn.

The conceptualization of safety used in this study was state that it is a sense of psychoemotional and physical safety that is held both globally and in relating to specific people, places, and situations while in an out-of-home care setting. · This study found that there are several indicator areas within this conceptualization in which safetycan be assessed more specifically: relationships to caregivers, information as a source of gaining understandingand having control, relationships with their peers, and adapting and coping when feeling unsafe. A stronger sense of safetyfor youth in care also was associated with self-esteem, an internal locus of control, and fewerinternalizing problems, especially anxiety and depression.

The findings of thisstudy have many implications for the practice of caring forchil dren and youth in out-of-home care and in training caregivers. Meeting the safetyneeds for these children and youth must be a primary focus of providing care. Addressing these safety needs becomes of ultimate importance, however; when preparing children and youth to move to a new placement. Meeting such primary developmental needs is imperative to their futurehealthy development and their therapeutic progress. 102

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APPENDICES 112

APPENDIX A 113 INFORMED ASSENT REQUEST

The research project in which you have been asked to participate is being condQcted by Keith Bailey for credit toward earninga Ph.D. in Human Ecology. The purpose of this study is to find out how moving several times while in out-of-home care is related to your self-esteem, your sense of "who is in control" ( called locus of control), how safeyou fe el, and your behavior. This could help people to see how n:ioving several times while in out-of-home care can make you and your peers feel about yourselves.

You will be asked to fillout fivequestionnaires that describe how you feelabout yourself, which will take about 45 minutes to one hour. You may be selected at random to participate in an interview about what it is like to move while in out-of-home care .. The interview could last up to 45 minutes or longer andwill be audio taped. Some of these questions might make you feeluncomf ortable or could bring up bad memories. If you would like to talk about any of these feelings or memories, you can talk to your therapist or another staffperson whom you choose.

You will also be asked your age, how long you have been in out-of-home care, how many times you have been moved while in care, where you live now, and how long you have been at your present placement. This information will be looked up in your case-history files. This informationwill help to determinehow moving while in out-of home care effects different people.

If you complete all fiveof the questionnaires, you will be given a two-liter soft drink. If you are asked to participatein the interview and complete it, you will be given another two-liter softdrink.

You can withdraw frompa rticipating in this research at any time with no negative consequences. If you choose not to participate in this study, it will not change the services you receive fromHolston Home. If you chose to withdraw, the questionnaires you filled out will be destroyed immediately. If you chose to withdraw fromthe interview, the tape will be destroyed immediately.

Your name will not be on any of the questionnaires. Allthis informationwill be kept confidentialand your name will not be used in this study. The questionnaires and audio tapes will be kept in a locked filecabinet in the Mr. Bailey's home. Only he will · see these questionnaires and listen to the tapes. This information will be kept forup to eight years and might possibly be used forother research. This data will be destroyed in the year 2010.

If you would like to ask any more questions about this studyor your rights as a participant, you can contact Dr. Cheryl Buehler at the University of Tennessee at 423-974-6271. 114 INFORMEDAS SENT

I have been given an explanation of this research project and have been allowed to ask any questions about it. I understand that I can drop out of the study at any time with no negative consequences. I understand that this information will be kept confidential and that my participation in this study is totally voluntary.

I agree to participate in this study.

Name Date

Witness Date 115 PARENTAL/GUARDIANCONSENT FOR PARTICIPATION INRESEARCH

Your child may be asked to volunteer to participate in a research project conducted by Keith Bailey, the StaffDe velopment Coordinator at Holston Home. The research is on how moving to several different places while in out-of-home care effec�s children. The project consists of your child fillingout fivequestionna ires: one is about self-esteem, one is about how much in control he feels, one is about hqw safehe feels while in care, one is about how he feelsabout moving, and the other one is a general questionnaire about his feelings and actions. He also may be asked to participate in an interview that will be audio taped; the interview will be about what it. is like forhim to move to different placements while he is in out-of-home care. Also, he will be asked his birth date, where he is in care now, how long he has been in his present placement, how long he has been in out-of-home care, and how many places he has been moved to while in out-of-home care. This informationwill also been looked up in his case history file. He will receive a softdrink forparticipating. Attached is a copy of the formthat will be provided foryour child, which explains the project and asks forhis consent to voluntarily . participate. These questionnaires and the interview will not influencehis treatment plan at Holston Home and will not affect his quality or length of care here. Only Mr. Bailey will see these questionnaires or listen to the tape. He will not discuss the information about your child with any other staff. ------I agree that my c4ild may participate in this project if he volunteers to do so.

Parent's Signature Date

or Guardian's Signature Date ------Approval was gained by verbal consent over the phone.

Received by: ______

Signature Date

Witness's Signature Date 117

- - THEUNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE

..-· ur

InstitutionalReview Board Officeof Research 03/17/2003 404Andy Holt Tower Knoxville,. Tennessee 37996-0140 865-974-3466 Fax: 865-974-2805

IRB#: 5777 B

TITLE: "Perceived Sense of Safety for Children In Out-Of-Home Care Who Have Experienced Multiple Moves"

Bailey, Keith Buehler, Dr. Cheryl Child & Family Studies Child & Family Studies P.O. Box 188 . 420 Jessie Harris Bldg. Greeneville, TN 3 77 44 Campus

This is to inform you that your FormD request for modification in the above protocol has been approved. · This approval does not affe ct the original approval date.

Responsibilities of the investigator during the conduct of this project include the following:

1. To obtain prior approval fromthe Committeebefore institutingany changes in the proj ect.

2. To retain signed consent forms from subj ects forat least three years following completion of the project.

3. To submit a FonnD to report changesin the proj ect or to reporttermination at 12-month or less intervals.

We wish you continued success in your research endeavor.

S erely l , 1 \�� ·compliances 118

THEUNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE . ..-· ur

Institutional Review Board Office of Research 04/12/02 404Andy Holt T�r Knoxville, Tenn=ee 37996-0140 865-974-3466 Fax:865-974-2805

IRB#: 5777B

TITLE: "Perceived Sense of Safety for Children InOut-Of -Home CareWho Have Experienced Multiple Moves" · · - �: -

Bailey,Keith . Buehler, Dr. Cheryl Child & Family Studies Child& Family Studies PO Box 188 . 420 Jessi�Harris Bldg. Greeneville, 1N 37744 Campus

This is to info rmyou \hat your FormD request for modificationin the above protocol has been approved. Th.is approval does not affect the original approval date.

Responsibilities of the investigator during the conduct of this project include . the following:

1. To obtain priorapproval from the Committee before instituting anychanges inthe ��

2. To retainsigned consent formsfrom sub jects for at least three yearsfollowing

•completion bf the project. I I 3. To submit a FormD to report changes in the projector to report termination at 12-month or less intervals.

We wish you continued success in your research endeavor.

�cerely, I ln / 1 - . ./ \Brenda,� Lawson Compliances 119

·11IB UNIVERSITYOF TENNESSEE KNOXVILLE

12/10/1999 Officeof Research• 404 Andy Holt Towcr Knoxville,Tennessee 37996-0140 PHONE: (865) 974-3466 IRB#: FAX: (865) 974-2805 URL:http://www.ra.udc.edu/ora TITLE: Multiple Relocations, The TherapeuticEnvironment, and Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care

Bailey, Keith Buehler, Dr. Cheryl Child & Family Studies Child & Family Studie� 420 Holston Dr. 420 Jessie Hanis Bldg. Greeneville, 1N 37743 Campus

The points of clarification you submitted to this office regarding the above-captioned project, satisfied the concerns of the reviewers, thus your project has been approved.

This approval is for a period ending one year from the date of this letter. Please make timely submission of rene\val or prompt notification of project termination (see item #3 below).

Responsibilities of the investigator during the conduct of this projectinclude the following:

1. To obtain prior approvalfrom the Committee beforeinstituting any changes in the project.

2. To retain signed consent forms from subjects for at least three years following completion of the project.

3. To submit a Form D to report changes in the project or to report tenninationat 12-monthor less intervals.

The Committee wishes you every success in your research endeavor. This office will send you a renewal notice on the anniversary of your approval date.

Sincerely,

\ Brenda��Lawso n � Compliances

cc: ErnestBrewer 120

State of Tennessee Department of Children's Senices Policy, Planninc and Research Division 9th Floor, Cordell Hull Bu.ildinc 436 Sixth Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee 37243-1290

July 24, 2002

KeithA. Bailey Holston Uni.ted Methodist Home for Children P.O. Box 188 Greeneville, TN 37744 DearMr. Bailey: ' We are pleased to inform youthafyour research proposal entitled"Perceived Sense of Safety forChild ren in Out-of-Home Care Who Have Experienced MultipleMoves" has been approved by the Department of Children's Services. Your two-partstudy is to be conducted through interviews with approximately 20-24 adolescent fe males and males andthrough instrument validation with40 adolescentmales who are currentlyplaced in treatment r ..!t programs andfoster homes of Holston Home. All previouslyagreed-upon conditions (informedconsent and assent, confidentiality, etc.) and protocols must be strictlyadhered to, and any changes to the research affecting agreed-upon terms must first be approved by the Department I As required by ACA standards, we would appreciate receiving a copy of any·finalresults or reportsprior to their publication or dissemination.' This does not mean you need DCS permissionto publish or disseminate yourresults, or that we would attempt to censor any findings. The standard only states that the affected administrators have an opportunity to first review and comment on the results.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or require additional assistance.

\ Sincerely,

� /4.M..--rfif u. w- r Jules M. Marquart, Ph.D. Director, Policy, Planningand Research Chair, Research Review Committee 121

Holston United Methodist Home for Children, Inc. POBox 188 *Greeneville, TN 37744 � Holston Drive * Greeneville,TN 37743 Phone: 423-638-4171 Fax: 423-63er7171 -H Memo / To: Keith Bailey

From: ArtMasker, President/CEO

CC: Gayle Mrock, BradleyWilliams

Date: June 17, 2002

Re: Proposed Research Project "Perceived Sense of Safety forChildren in Out-of-Home Care Who Have Experienced Multiple Moves"

I havereviewed your proposalfor the above-referenced research project, and have discussed same 'Mth you. Yourproposal:

, ► Followsthe agency's policy andprocedure for conducting research at HUMH

► Yourprocedures appear to respectthe dignity, feeling, and confidentiality of thechildren IMlO may beinvolved voluntarily in this project

► The research appearsto betimely given the. DCS BrianA SettlementAgreement and other importantissues impacting the child -...elfare fieldin Tennessee

► Your proposal hasbeen approvedby our agency's Human Rights Committee

We discussed my requestfor a copy ci the signed dient •assent form" to be included in the dient record toreach youth involved in this project. and tory oo to brief staff in advance of involving � . . , !:•,Pi . youth, . .. : •· ••;, . a• .

. You are hereY,;th granted the agency's approval to conduct this research. We 'Msh you -...el and -.w lookforward to your sharing of theresults 'Mth oor staff.

.. :£. \ "'

� ;.:. ·.•: 122

Holston Home for Children, Inc. Memo

To: Art Masker, President/CEO Fn,m: Gayle Mrock,Administrator ofTreatment Services gr{l, Date: 5121/02

Re Research Approval

Human Rights Committee unanimously approved theresearch projectproposed by Keith Bailey at the May, 2002 meeting. The projectentitled, "Perceived Sense of Safetyfor Children in Out�-Home Care Who Have Experienced Multiple �oves,• was approved bythe committee based uponthe following:

1. The proposal followspolicy and procedure for conducting research.

2. The outoome of this researchwill be presented to Holston Home. . .. : 3. The research respects the dignity and feeHngsof the dlent • �

4. The research is timelywith the emergingTreatment Modeland BrianA. changes.

5. Any changesto the research will bebrought to this coml!littee forapproval. .•; ... ·'-:;\.�} --"·- .- -•.·· ,:

.... ·. �

\ 123

.--·

. /. Memo

T• 1N1iUa,aiR..-w8catl,UrMrJll,jtt1T-(""\_Q n � ,.,_. �Muk.-, Oli«Praias-oac--____....,.....,.., ):c:sy---�----- \ c:c � • ·- �21, 1959 ,_ Prq:asadRiuea'dl Prqecr( IRS II�8 )

Ke1lh Bailey 1-:u� wilrl mensptOp0AI ta aro.,ct a ,-c,p,qec:, usir,g Hoi=r,· Harne 0 . CMris,wiitl said prcjea entitled: "'111ipeRaoc::aiians, aiein...-: �·w � n Ouki-HoT• earw·.

• Giw,gda-:ts, a,a -.clu,taybasis. S instn.ments tameasute ciencsar--. toaa al CDnlral, u,,se cfphy 1ic:aland p� safely: � cne Child� Oleddisi-Youcn Rapcrt Fam comuan present le.els cfpsyd,opainalc;y I • Providinga� r:J l'Hllal'Ch 5ndings in a mam...-trlatcoes natvialal• dlant anldenliaiity I I • Cotrelalir:g wil'I�• dier1tc:ata ,uc, as OSM-lC�- r..el al� acHcls:an Home, and Cl1e numtwctITIQYes � i,a.:slOdy The agency MS!;iv _,ib approval lor inis .--tarcl'I � wilt,a:ndiocru � outlinedi, b � We r,a,,el'WQl••ed an opp:rtt,ily IQ re,,iew !he llnal rete..:n n!pltt. Ifaddida,al irlcrmalicn is nee

.e.?Miwl 0 t:U1JfMl;l.lllfflGll&i...&;f;-""' :· .;.:.;• .,.;O-.:i· �,�:?o.11H:..::':.a'== ·�1·,.:.1 .,.,'-�" t:1.J <�U�JJi:.::6:.:P::;. !'t;.:,":.:· '---- ��@_ ,t:2LJ112'�l•i..i'.a!iML.:�Gt!l'!..�U"Ell!lld-.-tt•-·--=:1...; •::q,,::-.-.-·-

ii:-·.:: .,.,,....,..,,,..,__ 124

��. : Holston Home forCltjldren For Boys For' Girls Foreue_r ,,. ...�· .

August 30, 1999

From: Don Batson, HumanRights Coirunittee, InterimChair To: University of Tennessee Human SubjectsCommittee Re: Research Approval

Keith Bailey, who is employed as the Chaplain at Holston United Methodist Home for Children, submitted a request for research approval to a called meeting of the Human Rights Committee. A quorum committee, consisting of three agency members and one community member, has granted approval forMr. Bailey to conduct this research with the clients of Holston Home using the methods and standards that were descnbed in bis Human Subjects Form B Application. Any changes to these methods must be brought back before the Human Rights Committee for further approval.

We ask that Mr. Bailey make available bis research findings to this agency upon completion of this study. \

Date

cc: Keith Bailey, Chaplain Art Masker, ChiefProgram Officer J.C. Dollar, President/CEO Human Rights Committee Minutes

\ ...... '·

.&CC>IIDn'ID A Cbristian /nstilUllon in tb• UnitlldM.aiodlst Traditton

__.:.:.P .O=.'-'Bo=:..:..x ..:.:1 88=-•....;;G'"'"re=enc¥il==le;...... ;.;Te=n=neuec=---=3n-'-«'-'-• --'-P=hone=_._(4_.l3..,_) --"638-4=-'....17 .....1 .....;; f:.;.;;i\X;.;;.....(-4=23::;.:.) ..;;.638-::..;;...;.7"""17--"1 ____ • �- Email: man@Wnk11"1.net • www.ifCCI1CVi11c.il.inkgn.net/children/ho!scon.hun 126 Discussion Guide

• Questions that review the biographicalin formation from the qualitative study,

e.g., age, number of moves, and how long the participant has been at the agency.

Other biographical questions, that seek to find where the participant is· from, etc.,

will be used set the participant at ease.

• "Grand T 9ur Questions"

o "What is it like to move from one placement to another?"

o "Is there anything that makes you feel safe or unsafe when you move

to a new placem�nt?" • Prompts and follow-upquestions will be asked as the participant

responds and "leads" the path of the discussion.

• "CategoricalQuestions"

o "If one of your peers were moving to a new placement, what would

you say to him (her)?"

o "If a new kid came to this placement, what would you say to help him

(her) feel better about being there?"

o Ifyou were leaving to go to a new placement, what could the staffdo

to help you fe el safe?

o If you had just arrived at a new placement, what could the staffdo to

help you fe el safe?

o Is there anything good about moving between placements?

• Thanks will be offered to each participant forhis willingness to share this

information. 128 Interviewwith #7 4

Age: 18

Race: White

Moves: 8

Placement: Independent Living

I: First of all, let me get your date of birth and your age.

th P: August 14 , 1984.

I: So you are 18?

P: Yes.

I: (Filling out other information on background information sheet.) You are presently at

Brumit Center?

P: Yes.

I: And, how long have you been at PAL [ another name forthis center]?

P: Over a year.

I: _The firstthing that I want to ask you is to thinkback to all the different places that you've been while in care. That could be places like Holston, it could be hospitals - like psychiatric hospitals - detention, runaway shelters, I mean anything like that.

P: Detention centers, too?

I: [Nods yes]. If you think back to the very first one, you can tell me the order of the different places and even if you went home and came back.

P: OK,the firstplac ement I've been to is Knox County Detention Center. And that was

th on October 6 , 1999. [I: OK {While documenting the placements.}] I thought that 129 place wa s the most scariest place I'd ever been to. [I: OK] Andtwo days later, I like, wen t to court. And then they sent me to Brookhaven, which is in Seymour. [I : OK.]

And.I. stayed there forthree months. [I: OK.] Andlike on December 3rd of that year, I moved here to Holston. [I: OK.] And the problem is that they didn 't tell me that I was coming up here. They never told me where I was going. Allthey did wa s, like, pack up all my stuffand, like, take me up here. [I : OK.] And the nextthing I know, I found myself on the upper end of the state. [I: OK.]

I: When you got here to Holston, where did you start out?

P: I started out at Smith Cottage.

I: And then after Smith?

P: I went to Brown, and stayed there for seven months.

I: OK. And then after Brown?

P: And then after Brown, I went home for a five month period. [I: OK.] And then like, problems aroused at home, and so I moved back to the Wiley Center.

I: OK. Where at at Wiley?

P: Smith.

I: OK. Andafter Smith, where did you go?

P: Then I went back to Brown. But then I stayed there until Jurie of 2000.

I: And then after Brown, where did you go?

P: After Brown, I went to the Boy's Group Home. I stayed there forthree months, and then I went to Brumit Center, andthat 's where I am right now.

I: OK. So you've been at Brumit ever since.

P: Yes. 130 I: So, it looks like altogether, you've been at eight different places. Six of them at

Holston Home. And only two beforethat?

P: Yes.

I: While you were at Holston did you ever have to go to a hospital or anywhere like that?

P: No.

I: Tell me what it'·s like to move fromone place to another like this.

P: It's a scary experience forme, because you don't know, like, the people there until you're there a month. And you starttalking and warm up to them, and then your, like, going into new surroundings. For me it takes me a pretty long time fo.r me to adjust to where I am.

I: So it takes a while to adjust? [He nods yes.] Are there things that help you to adjust anybetter than other things?

·p: Staffusually help me get, like, suited up at the place.

I: OK. So staffdo ?

P: Yeah. They try to make it the best that they can.

I: Is there anything that they do in particular that they do that helps?

P: Not really. They just talk to me and try to get to know me and stuff

I: OK. Now when you were telling me about the places you have been, you said that the

Knox County Detention Centers was one of the scariest places. Tell me more about that.

P: Well, I'm not going to say w:hatbrought me there, but ... but like there was only one staffthat I actually trusted there, and that was the one that I met when I first came in. [I:

OK.] And he talked to me, andwe sortalike had sortalike a great raport. [I: OK.] We started talking, and basically, and he didn't want to put me with like with all the other, 131 like, hard core �riminals. [I: OK.] So, he put me in a cell by myself ... because he

thought that it would be safer. [I: OK.] And like, for the two days that I was there, he

came in there and checked on me, like, every so many hours. I : ... I just really trusted

that guy. [I: OK.] And there was thisone other staffthere, though ... we were like

talking on the basketball court,and then _he said they'll do anything they can to keep me

safe there.. Even though it was pretty rough there.

I: OK. So, when they said that, did that make you feel more safe?

P: Yes.

· I: OK. And being in a cell by yourself made you feel safer?

P: Yes. I remember, like, when I first came in there, they kept yelling out my cell

number. And then that made me so scared?

I: Who kept yelling that out?

P: All the other, like, inmates and stuff They kept on, like ... all I did was stay quiet

since they would, like, ah, like, ah, not like, continue on. Because I was, like, curled up

into a little ball scared to death.

I: (Pause). About another placement, you said that when they were brining you up to

Holston Home, you said that they didn't tell you where they were takingyou.

P: No.

I: How did that make you feel?

P: I was just surprised. It was, like, very early in the morning, they told me I was

leaving. It was,"' like, when I was, like at their school. I was doing my work and then,

like, one of the staffca _me in and asked me if I was leaving, and I told them, "No." And I

said, "I don't thinkso ." So, she went to double check and she said I was. And then that 132 kinda surprised me, 'cause I didn't have any warning about it. And then I went back up to the [can't make this out], that's li ke where we stayed, and packed all my stuff, and put it in t�e DCS van. Then we, ah, and we drove up here in Greeneville. And I had no idea where this places was, because I've never been up on this end of the state until then. And, ah, it was like, � tried to ask them, I asked them like three or fourtimes where I was going. And they wouldn't answer me. So, I decide that it can 't be any worse than the

I , , , place I was at at the time. So, like, I sat back and enjoyed the ride, and then they, like, pu lled in there. I had never heard of this place ... I had never heard of Holston before. So they, like, drove me around the circle, and I was wondering what all t�ose buildings were. And the I saw the Wiley Center, and they took me in there. And then I met,

[name of staff],and she talked with me, and then I met [name of staff],and then I met

[name of staff].

I: OK. And you said that when you asked them about where you were going, and they didn't say anything,how did that make you feel?

P: I just thought that they were being plain old rude. [I: OK.] I think that I have a right to know where I'm going. [I: OK.] I mean ... I mean, my mom didn't even know that I was coming up here until they called her like fivehours after I'd ,peen up here. "Cause she thought that I was still at Brookhaven.

I: Is there anything that makes you feeleither safeor unsafewhen you move to a new placement or to a new house?

P: It's ...What makes me feelun safe is, a lot of li ke, threats. Like threatening talk and stufflik e that. Like, most of the guys threaten you just because they play with you, I 133 think. Just because they are trying to like ..... [ someone walked into the room and interrupted- tape was stopped]

I: Y�u were talking about guys and making threats because they were just playing with you.

P: I learned after being a couple months in State's custody, that like, guys ...jus t like ..

.just like : . . sort of play with you like that. Sort of try to be your friend, and you know like, [ can't make this out] and play basketball, and something like that. And then, I didn't get used to that until I was a couple months in custody.

I: Anything else you can tell me about feeling safe or unsafewhen yo� move to a new placements?

P: It'sjust like getting to know the other guys that you're with .�s kinda the most scariest part than actually being where you are placed.

I: OK. How's that scary?

P: Because you don't know them. And, right now .... And when you get there, if you're like me, they're kinda dangerous until you like get to know them, andstuff. Like ... like

... I would keep my mouth quiet and listen to what was going on and stuff . [I: OK.]

People like press you into things, and stuff.

I: OK. Is there anything that makes you feel safe when you move to a new placements?

You've told me about some things that make you feelunsafe ..

P: I feel safearound staffno matter what. [I: O�.] Because I thinkof them as the

Peacekeepers, an�. stuff And that's what they ar� in places like-keep up the peaces and stuffand keep everybody fromgoing at each other and stuff And sort of being mentorey, and stuff. 134 I: OK. So, they're peacekeepers, but they are also mentors?

P: Yeah.

I: Anything else you can tell me about feelingsafe or unsafe. This is all good stuff

P: [Pause.] No.

I: OK. [Pause.] _If one of your peers were moving to a new placement, what you would

you say to him or her?

P: I would say, t.:Don't screw up." [I: OK.] Don't screw up or make any bad decisions,

because it can knock you back down in the foodchain.

I: What do you mean by the foodchain?

P: Like it could knock you down to like a level four. Like, you know, like extremely

locked down ... where you can't even go out of your cell, almost.

I: OK. What if there was new kid who came over to the PALprogram, what would_you

say to him or her about being there that you think would help them?

P: Don't come in here talking gang stuffor something ... or like making threats or acting

like they're all that, and stuff, because staffwill call them down on an incident and put

them on a multiple day restriction.

I: OK. [Pause.}· Is there anything good about moving to a new place?

P: It's a change of scenery.

I: What do you mean by a change of scenery.

P: It's like, once you get tired of the same old place all the time then when you move it's

sort of like gets you, like, a new surrounding. You get something new to look at and stuff, and you got .... Like, taking the same walk around the same pond and trail and stuff, like that. Instead, you get a whole new place to, like, explore, and stuff. 135 I: OK. A whole new place to explore. [Pause.] Now, you moved to two places before you came to Holston, and then you moved six times within Holston - within our agency.

Was it any easier or harder to make those moves within Holston than the two before that?

P: Holston has the same staffth at I've known, forlike, the couple of years that I've been here. Like, when I moved to the group home, [ name of staff],who was, like, when I first came to Holston, was staffin Smith. So, I've had, like, I've gotten to, like, know her, like, better than anyone else there. And the other staffthat was at the group home, they . were, like, brand new couples who just started working at Holston. So, I didn't really, like, get to know them.

I: OK. So, you said that it was helpful to get to know [name of stafl],and she's been there all along through your moves.

P: Yes.

I: What's been helpful about gettingto know here and having her there this whole time?

P: Well, when I come ... when I have a problem, she says come talk directly to her, and she'll solve the problem. And, so, like if I have a complaint or feel unsafe,I go her, and then she usually takes care of it immediately. Sortof like, instead of going through certain steps or like a command structure,you can go straightto the head person of the programinstead of going though channels, and stuff. "Cause going through channels takes a while.

I: OK. Is there anything else you can tell me about moving or feeling safeor unsafethat we haven't talked about, yet? 136 P: Like I said, it just depends on if the same guys I've known fora couple of weeks or who was at my previous placement, then I can trustthem, and stufflike that. I'm used to them, but any other people that I've never seen before, �hen I get all nervous, and stuff

I: Whenyou 're talking about the same guys you're talking about peers?

P: Yes.

I: So, if you know the peers you feellike you can trustthem.

P: Yes. I feelthat I'm used to, like, talking to them, or chatting, and stufflike that.

I: OK. Anything else at all?

P: No.

I: I want to thank you fordoing this. This is a lot of good informationyou 've given me to help me understand this. I'm going to go ahead andtum offthe tape.

[Afterthe tape was turnedoff, the participant stated: "This was fun. Finally, someone listens to my whole story."]

After conducting another interview, the researcher thought of two more questions to ask this participant. The following interviewwas conducted days afterthe primary interview.

[Conducted 6 weeks later.]

[Brieflyreviewed some of our discussion fromthe primary interview.]

I: If you had to leave a place and go to another place, is there anything that staffcan say to you that makes you feel saferabout the place your going? Or feel better about the place your going? 137 P: No.

I: No? Why not?

P: B�cause they don't know anything about the program where I'm possibly going to or not, and they might, like, lie about something, but they didn't mean, like, do it on purpose. They might be a little wrong about it.

I: So, there is nothing that they can do that helps you prepare to go to a place.

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Whenyou get to a new placement, is there anything that staffcan do when you get there that helps you feel safer ab out being there?

P: Just knowing that I can talk to them when I need to and stuff

I: OK. Anything else other than them offering to talkto you?

P: No.

I: That's it? [P: Nods yes.] All right. 138 Interviewwith #7 5

Age: 18

Race: White

Moves: 7

Placement: Level 2

I: First of all, I've got your age, your level of care, and how long you've been here.

What I'd like foryou to do is tell me all the different places you've been in while you've been in care. That could be hospitals, detention centers, places like t�s. If you'll think back to the very first one, and go through ...

P: Since I've been in State's custody?

I: Yeah. Were you ever in a place before you were in State's custody?

P: I was in a place before State's custody.

I: OK. What place was t}lat?

P: I was down in Lakeshore. [I: OK [ while documenting the placements}.] I was in

Knox County Juvenile. [I: OK.] I was in Peninsula Lighthouse fordrug rehab. I was in the Sholtz Center fordrug rehab, too.

I: What's the name ofit?

P: The Sholtz Center.

I: OK. In any of these placements did you go home? Like, afterLakeshore, did you go home or did you go straight to ...

P: I went home.

I: OK. AfterKnox County Juvenile? 139 P: I went home.

I: What about Peninsula?

P: T4at was an outpatient.

I: Oh, it was an outpatient. So you didn't actually live there?

P: No.

I: OK. And then you .went to the Sholts Center. Did you live there?

P: Yes.

I: Did you go home afterthat?

P: No.

I: Where did you go afterthe Sholts center?

P: I went to Hamilton County Juvenile.

I: OK. And where fromthere?

P: Jackson Academy.

I: OK. And where fromthere?

P: No. I went to Scott County Juvenile aftertha t.

I: From Hamilton County you went to Scott County Juvenile?

P: [Nods yes.] [I: OK.] Then I went_to Jackson Academy.

I: OK .. And where afterJackson Academy>

P: Here.

I: Did you come straight to Jones House?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. So you've been seven different placements. When did you go to Lakeshore, do you remember when that was? 140 P: I spent 22 days, and then I went to Juvenile forabout 7 days or a week.

I: Did your parents place you in Lakeshore or these other places, or how did that happen?

P: I' ipnot for sure how I got in there. They just came and got me fromschool. [I: OK.]

I think it was the court, I'm not for sure.

I: So, you've got seven different placements down here. The main question that I want to ask you is, what's it like to have to move from one place to another as many times as you have? And you can be just real honest with me, real open. You can say whatever you want.

P: It sucks.

I: It sucks. Tell me what sucks about it.

P: The reason why it sucks with me is because I can't go home. I can't get passes like some people can. [I: OK.] That's the reason why is sucks forme, cause �11 I can do is stay here or stay in that placement and do what they do there, whatever.

I: OK. What's it like when they tell you you're moving to a new place. Like, when you were in the Shots center, and they said, "We're going to move you to Juvenile? Or from

Juvenile, we're going to move you to Jackson Academy? Or Jackson Academy, we're going to move you to Holston Home?" How does that make you feel finding that out?

P: Whenever I came fromJackson Academy here, I thought it would be allright, but whenever I got here, I was good for about a month or so. Then I started gettingin trouble. [Pause.]' Now, I want to move back, because it was better up there for me than here. So, uh ..

I: What's better about it? 141 P: Staffhere is all up in your business, and stuff. There, they didn't take everything as a joke. They took everything serious up there, and stufflike that. And like, you can get away .with things here, but up there, you couldn't. You couldn't get away with anything there. They're strict on the rules, and that taught me how to do good, and stufflike that.

And _now, here, I'm just worse thanI was.

I:. OK. When you were at these other places, did they tell you you were moving to the new places, or how did that come about?

P: Shots center, I got in a fightand that's the reason why I went to Juvenile, and stuff, because I got in a fight. So, I knew I would be going somewhere - to _Juvenile or something. I really wasn't worried about that one. Then, I didn't know that I was going to Juvenile afterI went to Lakeshore. And, I didn't want to go, 'cause I didn't like it.

That was the firsttime I went to Juvenile.

I: So, how did it make you feelto find out you were going to Juvenile that first time?

P: Mad.

I: Mad? What about it made you mad?

., P: [Can't make this out.] Why did I have to go to Juvenile after I had got out of somewhere I had served some time for, forwha tever I did. [Can't make this out.]

I: Anything else you can tell me about what it's like to have to move to different places?

How you feel about it? How it is when you leave a place or show up to a new place?

P: I was happy whenever I leftHamilton County because I didn't like it.

I: So, you were glad to move fromthere, huh?

P: Yeah. Then I went to Scott County. ScottCou nty wasn't that bad. I liked it up there, too, because I got along with workers up there, and everything. I was pretty glad to leave 142 there, too. [I: OK.] Then, I went to Jackson Academy. Whenever, I got up there to

Jackson Academy, I didn't like it at first, and then I started getting used to it, and stuff

I: So, it makes you feelbetter once you getused to it?

P: Yeah.

I: Is there anything that makes you feelsafe or unsafe[phone rings - tape is stopped so the voice mail will pick up]. I'm going to ask you that again. Is there anything that makes you feel safe or unsafewhen you move to a new place? [Pause.]

Or when you first get there?

P: No. Because I really ain't worried about it.

I: You're not worriedabout it.

P: Itjus t don'� bother me, because I'm so used it. Being ... Now, I'm used to being locked up right now, cause it don't bother me being locked up no more.

I: So, you're kinda used to it by now?

P: I don't like it, but I'm used to it.

I: [Pause.] If there was one of your peers who was moving to a new placement, what would you say to him that would make him feelbetter about going?

. . P: I'd be happy forhim, but ... I don't know. I'd be happy forhim. I'd tell him, "Be good, stay out of trouble .. "

I: OK. What if you had a new kid who came to this cottage, what would you say to him to make him feel betterabout being here, and help him out?

P: Just do what they say, cause, if you don't do what they say you'll get in trouble and stufflike that. [Pause.] Just do what they say, be honest. If you give them respect, they'll respect you back. 143 I: OK. If you leftthis place for some other place, what do think staffhere could say to you that would make you feel safeabout going to another place? You've told me that you really don't worry about it, but is there anything that they could say that could make you feel better about moving to a new place or make you feel that it was going to be a safe place?

P: I really don'�_ know what they would say. Just do good, and don't get in no more trouble. [Can'tmake this o�t.]

I: OK. If you got to a new place, is there anything that the staffcould say to you to you when_you firstgot there that would help you feel safe about being in t�at place?

P: Not really.

I: No?

P: I'd have to find out for myself.

I: What sort of things would you have to findout foryourself to make you feel safe about being there?

P: See how the other clients act, and stufflike that.

I: OK. What do you mean by that? What do you mean by how. they. act?

P: What I mean is, how they act around you, the way they talk to you, and just how they are.

I: OK. So, you'd have to kind of sit back and watch that for a littlewhile?

P: Yeah.

I: Have you ever been to a place where how people has made you feeluncomforta ble?

P: That's one of the reasons that I didn't go to the Group Home. I had the chance to go to the group home, and I chose not to, because, I didn't like the waythe clients were over 144 there. One of clients started messing with me whenever I first stepped in there. And I

didn't like it. [I: OK.] I told him to quit, but he wouldn't, so I chose ... I told them I

didn't want to go over there. So, that's the reason why I'm still here.

I: OK. Is there anything else that you can tell me about moving to these different places that was good or bad? That made you feel safeor unsafe?

P: The place where I feltmost safewas at Jackson Academy.

I: At Jackson Academy? [P: Yeah.] What made you feelsafe at Jackson Academy?

P: I had ... I had almost all the staffon my side, 'cause I was there forso long. They ....

IfI told them something that happen that really did happen, they'd believe me if someone

else tried to lie about it. [I: OK.] And, I liked the staffa lot up there, and they liked me, too. [I: OK.] And, feelsafe around there. ,.

I: OK. So, you felt like they would listen to you, believe you. So that was important.

And you said that they were on your side. Can you give me an example of them being on your side.

P: Like, if one of the residents or clients went and told one of the staffso mething that I totally did, which I didn't, and I told them that I didn't, I'd tell them that I didn't, and they would believe me.

I: OK. So, them trustingyou was important to you.

P: [Nods yes.}

I: Is there anythingelse you can tell me about Jackson Academy that made feel safe?

P: They taught you how to respect people, and stufflike that, adults and stuff

I: OK. Anything ·else you can tell me at allabout this or about moving?

P: No. 145 I: Is there anything good about moving fromplace to place?

P: I don't think there is. But it is probably good for, because if you move from ... if

you'r� like in· a level three, or something like that, it's good to move to a level two, or

something.

I: OK. So you're saying if you step down in care [P: Yeah.] that's positive.

P: Yeah.

I: Anything else that would be good about it.

P: It means your working the program, and stufflik e that, I guess.

I: OK. So, if you move out of a program, it means you've worked the program - you've

been successfulthere.

P: Ifyou did it right.

I: If you did it right. [P: Yeah.] OK.

P: Notthe wrong way.

I: What if you went the wrong way?

P: It means that's not good. It means you're not improving your attitude. It means you're just making it worse. It shows you how you'll probably :act when you get older.

I: Is there any advised you can give to staffto make thingssafer when you get to places

or when you leave places? Anything you need to know?

P: I don't know, though. I don't know.

I: Well, I'm going to go ahead and cut the tape off

[The participant was thanlced for sharing the information with the researcher.] 146 Interviewwith #7 6

Age: 17

Race: African-American

Moves: 5

Placement: Level 2

[Beforethe tape was turnedon, the background information was documented on the background informationsheet .]

I: First of all, I want to ask you to tell me all the different placements ,that you've been in since you've been in State care, even beforethat. That can include placements like

Holston Home, if you've ever been in a hospital - like a psych. Hospital - detention, runaway shelte�, foster, anything like that. So if you'll think back to the very first one and just go down the list.

P: I was in a fosterhome in Chattanooga. I lived there forabout a week.

I: OK. That was your very firstplacemen t? [ As I was documenting these moves.]

P: My firstplacem ent. [I: OK.] Then they moved·me to Morristown, to YES. [I: OK.] fora couple ofweeks. Then I move� to Holston, forassessment. Then they sent me fromhere to CCS in Kingsport. [I: OK.] Then I got disrupted and they moved me back to Holston.

I: When you canie back to Holston, did you come back here to Hennen Cottage?

P: Yes, sir.

I: OK. So, you've had a total of fivediff erent placements.

P: Yeah. 147 I: No time in detention or runaway, other than YES.

P: That's the only _one.

I: No time in a hospital? [P: Nods no.] So, only these five. OK. The firstthing that I want to ask you is to tell me what it's like to have to move into once of these placements

or what it's like to have to move the five different times that you've moved:

P: At firstit 's kinda hard because you don't know nobody, and you're not used to the surroundings and all the different people. But after a while you kinda get used to it after you meet friends. [I: OK.] andget to know people ... andget used to being away from home. [I: OK.] That was my hardest thing, being ... getting used to �eing away from home, because that meant that I'm away frommy parents. [I: OK.] So that makes things a lot harder. [I: OK.] And then being moved fromplace to place, after a while it. gets hard, because being locked up for nothing. You're time ain't counting. It ain't doing nothing but make me mad. More mad at the system. [I: OK.] Itmakes you not want to work the program, because you don't know whey you're going to be moved again, forno reason, or whatever.

I: So, overall, you've said that it's kinda hard. [P: Yeah.] You gave lots of reasons, there. You said, at first, its hard being away fromhome. [P: Yeah.] Did your family know where you were - where you moved to?

P: Yeah, they did. I called them when I got there - the day afterI got to Chattanooga.

Like, each placement I got to, they allowed a phone call when I got there to let our parents know where we was. WhenI got to CCS, though,I think it was like two months beforeI called them, because I wasn't on level to have phone calls and stuff That was real hard. _148 I: Waiting two months to call your familywas real hard?

P: Couldn't send mail, or nothing like that. Itwas hard.

I: What was the hardest thing about that? .,. P: Really not know if my parents were OK. If one of them had been hurt, if my mama

had been hurt or my brother.

I: OK. It's just not having that contact or knowing what was going on? [P: Nods yes.]

Did you get any visits with them when you are at these placements?

P: No. Well, forthe first six months, I never seen my parents, because I didn't want them to come and see me while I was locked up.

I: Whywas that?

P: Because, it's hard. It'shard enough being away from home. Then when they come and visit you; I thought that it would make things a lot harder, because when they leftI would want to go with them, and I wouldn't be able to. So, I just told them·to not bother

and come see me.

I: So, you just avoided that so it would make it easier [P: Yeah.] to deal with being in there. [P: Nods yes.] OK.

P: When I got moved back to Holston, I think it was my firstor second week here, my mom called and told me that they was in Bull's Gap, they was on their way here.

I: How did that make you feel?

P: It was good, 'cause I was startingto get my home passes and stuff. That made everything a lot easier. That made me want to get out a lot more.

I: OK. That's good. Good stuff. You talked about gettingused to the people. Tell me more about that. 149 P: The people .... you know you got : .. when you first get locked up you don't know

nobody. Unless. its people fromyour home county that you've met before or some of

your �ends that are locked up. And you don't know how people are going to actwhen

you approach them and tryto be their friend. Either you make friends or you're by

yourself the whole time you're locked up. And having friends, that's a good thing,

because you have somebody to talk to when you need somebody to talk to. You won't just have to let all your anger build up and then end up just going offfor no reason - get

put in a mental hospital or something.

I: OK. So it's important foryou to make friends?

P: Yeah.

I: Anything else you can tell me about having to move fromone place to another?

P: After a while it gets old.

I: How does it get old?

P: You don't know where they're going to move you to. If where you're going to go to, if people are going to abuse you. Or staffor whoever mighttry to molest you . r whatever.

I: Staffor staffand other kids?

P: Staffor other kids or whatever.

I: In any of these placements that you've had, did you know where you were going .to?

Did they tell you the next one you were going to be moved to?

P: No, not really. When, I first got sent off, me and two of my friends got sent of together- twoof my other friends. And I asked to be moved where they were. And th�re wasn't a bed a Holston at the time, there was only two openings in Brown, so they 150 moved me to these other two places, just until they could get me here. And my case

worker called me the day beforethey moved me and told me that I was coming to

Holston, where my friends were at. I come for assessment. They said that I needed a drug rehab or whatever, so they moved me to CCS. Then I got disrupted fromthere, I

knew ... I had a feelingthat I would get disrupted. But I figuredthat I would go to a level three or higher because of the things that I was doing.

I: Did it make you feelbetter that your friendswere here coming here?

P: Yeah, because I was locked up with people that I knew that were fromthe same type

of environment that I was from.

I: OK. Was it easier foryou coming back to Holston the second time since you had

already been here once?

P: Yeah. Itmade everything a lot easier. When I moved to CCS, I didn't even want to work the program. I[I: OK.] And then, when I got back here, they were telling me that that was the only way that I was going to be able to get out, ifI do work the program. So,

I got it my mind that I was going to have to work the programto get out. So, that's whatI'v e been doing, and I'm about to get out.

I: OK. Is there anything that makes you feel saferor unsafewhen you move to a new placement?

P: In a way, well, when I got sent off, I was kindahappy. In a way, that way I knew that people on the street that I was into it with, they wouldn't be able to hurt me. If I was locked up, and I was locked up and people was try to hurt me, that they would always be somebody around at some point in time to stop it from happening. I was just prettymuch fedup with the violence and stuff. 151 I: OK. So you actually felt safe going into care so that nobody could get to you.

P: Yeah.

I: OK. What about when you moved fromone of these places to the other and you find out you're going there or you get to the place, is there anything that helps you to feel safe? Or is there anything that makes you feel unsafeat these different places you've been?

P: Moving? I think that all the facilitiesare safe; all of them could be safer. It ain't really that bad. This moving frompl ace to place, you know, when you find out that your mo ving your just wondering in your mind what's this place going to be. Are they going to like me when I getthere, or whatever. I really wasn't worriedabout it.

I: You weren 't worried about it. Why didn 't it worry you/

P: It di d, in a way, but in a way it didn't. But I usually don't talk to people that I don 't know. [I: OK.] I really didn 't have any problem with it.

I: So, if you didn't know them,you just weren 't going to talk to them?

P: Yeah;

I: Did that make you feel better, or ... I'm trying to understand ...

P: How it feelsgoo d andin a way it didn't? [I: Yeah.] Well, I don't kn ow. In some point in time everybody needs somebody to talk to, so you're not going to have no �hoice but to talk to somebody. [I: OK.] And,when I ....well, at the fi�stthree pl ace that I was at, it was only a few kids there. So, it wasn 't really nothing major. Then I get moved to

CCS, and there is almost close to 80 peoplethere. So, and I ha d to talk to somebody. So,

I startedhanging around people that was closest to my place - closest to [name of 152 hometown] where I was from. [I: OK.] Like people fromKnoxville and Chattanooga.

I startedhanging around them, talking to them, and then we became friends.

I: OK. So it made you feel better to findsomebody who was close to your home?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. [Pause.] If one of your peers were moving to a new placement, what could you say to him to help him feel better and safer about where he was going?

P: I would just tell him to keep your head up, you know. Don't let the small things bother you. Justdo what you gotta do to get out, so you can get out.

I: OK. What if there was a new kid coming into this house, what wo1:1ld you say to that kid to help him feel better about being here - make him feel·safe about being in Hennen

House?

P: The main thing about here is, just don't feedinto negativity and everythingwill go smooth. [I: OK.] That's the big thing at Holston - negativity. If you stay away from that, then everything will go all right - you' 11 be fine.

I: OK. What sort of negativity do they need to stay away from?

P: Just, people, you know, get you to go offon staff,and to just, like, throwing food behind the couch. Pouring all the foodout on the couch. Stufflike that. Cause, eventually, they're going to get caught, you know. That's some of the big things that's going on in this cottage. I would make people aware of it when they get here. Just stay away fromall the foodstuff.

I: OK. If you had to leave Holston to go to a new placement, is there anything that the staffcould say or do to help you feel safer about moving or where you were moving to? 153 P: They could, but, I probablywouldn 't take it to heart, be·cause, more than likely, they had never been there. They couldn't even tell me how to handle stuffover there if they had never been there. But if were comingfrom another peer, I would take it to heart, because they had been through the situation. [I: OK.] They could tell me how it is and what to expect when I get there.

I: OK. So you would feelmore comfortable hearing that froma peer.

P: Yeah.

I: OK. And you talked about what to expect when you get there. What's important for you to know about what to expect?

P: Like, the behavior fromthe other clients. Like when you get there, what are they going to do - how are they going to l(?okat you. If you're going to fi� in or not. Things like that. [I: OK.] Things that most teenagers are worried about.

I: OK. So you say that most teenagers are going to worry about this ... [P: Yeah] anyway. [P: Yeah.]

P: They all are looking to fitin. [I: OK.] So, just do, basically don't do anything, just ·· anything to fit it. But whatever you feel to do to fitin with the other kids, if it fitsyou, then just do it.

I: So fittingin is an important thing?

P: Yeah.

I: Earlier you had somethingabout wondering if you were going to get abused at a place.

Tell me more about that. 154 P: I don't .... My whole lifeI'v e been into fights. I like to fight, and stuff. So, my

cousin got sent off, and he told me, "When you get locked up, you're going to have to

fight regardless of if you want to or not. You're going to have no choice but to fight."

So when I moved to Holston, you know, I didn't get into arguments with nobody, so I'm

thinking, he's just lying. It ain't as bad as he said it was. Then I moved to CCS, and I

was fightingthree or fourti mes a week. I didn't have not choice but to fight. And staff,

we had staffup there who was just smacking clients and stufflike that. So ...

I: Why did you feel like you had to fight?

P: Cause if you didn't, they would fightyou. You know, people wou�d look down on

you. Like, you just let him run his mouth to you, andyou didn't do nothing about it.

Aftera whi le, that gets old. It relieves a lot of stress, too. Ittakes things offyour mind

fora while.

I: OK. So fighting relieves stress, you said, and the other part of it is, you've got to show

people that you can take up foryourself Is that it?

P: Yeah. Because you ain't supposed to let nobody run over Y(?U. That's just how I was.

I didn't let nob�'dy run over me. That's why I got disrupted. For fighting, and stuff.

I: OK. So, that's how you've got to protect yourself? Fighting and standing up to people?

P: Yeah. Well, you could tell staff, though, but when staffai n't around, who is going to take up for you. You are on your own, basically. When staffai n't around, you either fight or get beat up.

I: OK. Is it important to you to have staffaround? Does that help? 155 P: Yeah. Itdoes a lot. Most ain't going to fight, because the fightfor a certain period of time._ Nobody's wanting to fight fortwo seconds and it be over. They want to fight and get you �omewhere where they can fight you until they are through with you, or whatever. [I : OK.] If staff'saround � they ain't going to do that. Un less, they just got problems.

I: OK. You talked about staffat that place smacking people. How did that make you feel seeing that go on or knowing that that went on?

P: I ... It was kinda hard, you know, just to sit there and let another peer get smacked for no reason. But, you couldn't do nothing about it. They take staffs' w�rd over clients' regardless of who saw it. You just had to sit back and hope that it didn 't happen to you.

I: What was th�t like sitting back and hoping it didn 't happen to you? P: Itwas kinda hard, because you never know what to expect. Cause if a staffis in a bad mood, you 'r� going to have different reactions to things.

I: O�. So, knowing what staffis going to do is helpful?

P: Yeah. You've got to get used to being around a staff Find a staffto be buddy-buddy with. Get on their good side, so you won't have to worry about nothing li ke that happening to you. They'll help you out while you 're there. They'll help you get through the program.

I: OK. So they'll he lp you out, but they'll keep you fromhaving to deal with the negative stuff?

P: Yeah. As a c�ient, they'll keep you fromtrouble and, you know, help you get your passes. Help you get out quicker. [I : OK.] [Can't make this out.] ...talk to people, like · 156 talk to the case manager and let them know that you are going go

to be here, and all this, you know. So, they help you out.

I: OK. If you walked into a new placement -just got offthe van and stepped right in,

what cou!d a staffperson do at that new placement to help you feel like it was going to be

a safe place and things were going to be �K there?

P: Talk to me and let me know what's going on. [I: OK.] Everybody needs to know

what's going in· [can't make this out] before they enter a new environment. [I: OK. ]

You just don't put somebody somewhere where they don't know what's going on or what

to expect, cause they could end up getting hurt. [I: OK.] If they aren�t aware of what's

going on around them.

I: And you talked earlier about expecting behaviors from other clients or peers there. Is

there anythingelse that you need to know that is going to help you - about what's going

on?

P: Not really. [Can't make this out] just sit back and watch. [I: OK.] Take notes. Get

in mind what people' s reactions is to certainthings. Like, [ can't make this out] curse

with them, just to see what their reaction is. �d then, so that �ay you'll know not to do

it, just to piss someb_ody offand get them angry. You know ahead of time that you don't

want to do that, and you could end up getting into a fightwith that person, if you don't

want to fightthem [can't make this out].

I: Is there anythingelse you can tell me about this whole experience of moving different

places or fe eling safe or unsafe at places? 157 P: Well, it really, it's what you make out of it. Being locked up, you don't ever get your way. You're not here to get your way. A lot of times, you've just got to live with what happens.

I: OK. Just make the best outit?

P: Yeah. Gettingmad ain't going to do nothing but make things worse.

I: Is there anything good about moving to a new places?

P: Yeah.

I: What'sgood?

P: I met, I know I met at least over 300 new people, cause I've been l�cked up. And it's kinda good, you know, you meet new people - see where they're coming from, how they

[ can't make this out], and how they got there, and you know, when you do get out and get another chance, you're gonna look back on that and say, "Well,'-ifJohn got locked up for this, then I don't want to do that. And so that help out a lot, too.

I: So you learnfrom the experiences [P: Yeah.] of all the other people [P: Yeah.]

[Interruption- cut tape off.]

I: So, we were talking about learning from the experiences of other people. Anything else good about moving?

P: Get to travel.

I: Get to travel.

P: Yeah. Something you'd probably never do if you were still at home. [I: OK.] Most people don't ever, have never been out of their home county. In a way it's good. Get out and see things.

I: OK. Anythingelse you want to tell me - thinkI need to know about this? 158 P: No.

I: Well, this has been a lot of great information. I'm going to go ahead and tum the tape off.

[The participant was thankedfor sharing the information in this interview.] 159 Interviewwith #81

Age: 15

Race: White

Moves: 11

Placement: Level 3

I: The first thing that I want to ask you is to start at the beginning and tell me all the different places that you've been to, in order, while you've been in out-of-home care.

P: The firstplace I went to was Freewill group home here in Gr�enev�lle. [I: OK.] And then I went back home fromFree will. [I: OK.] I went to juvenile and stayed forone night. Went to juvenile and stayed forone night, andwent home. Went to juvenile again, and stayed until I had a court date, and then they took-me up here to Holston, and I was in Brown. [I: OK.] And I ran from Brown and went to juvenile - the one that I went to beforeI went to Brown. And then fromthere, they sent me to Blount Co.

Detention. [I: OK.] And, then I wenfback to Brown, and I went to Peninsula, then I went to a fosterhome than I went to Smith.

I: [Looking over his background information sheet that had been filled out earlier.] You went to Brown again, and then Peninsula before coming back to Brown again.

P: To a fosterhome, and then to Smith, andI've been here forfive, five-and-ahalf months. ·

I: OK. Itlooks. like, altogether,you've been in 11 placements. Some of them you've been in a couple of times, but you've been moved that many times. All right. What I'd 160 like to ask you is, what's it like to have to move fromplace to place and live in all these

places?

P: It'_s pretty depressing, sometimes.

I: OK. What do you mean by depressing? Tell me more about that.

P: Ah .... It kinda makes you feel... I don't know, like you don't know where you're going. [I: OK.] Itmakes you down and out. [I: OK.] I know when I went, when I ran

from Brown and went to the juvenile in my home town, they didn't even tell me where I was going. They just woke me up at fouro' clock in the morning, told me to come on. I was in shackles, and they sent me to Blount CountyDeten tion. Ah, it just ... makes your parents depressed, 'cause they don't know where you're at.

I: OK. Tell me more about your parents being depressed and not kno�ng where you're

at.

P: When I went to Peninsula and went to that fosterhome, they didn't know where I was

at fora �eek. [I: OK.] And I had to sneakand call fromthe foster home. 'Cause I knew my Mom didn't know where I was at, or she would have called.

I: OK. How does that make you feelabout what your parents are going through?

P: It makes feel bad forthem as well as formyself.

I: OK. You mentioned that in one place they woke you up at fourin the morning ... [P:

Yeah.] They put shackles on you?

P: I had to sleep in shackles.

I: Oh, you had to sleep in shackles.

P: Yeah.

I: Why did you have to sleep in shackles? 161 P: I don't know.

I: You don't know. [He nods no.] So, they woke you up at fourin the morning and moved you to another place right then .

P: [Nods yes.]

I: Tell me more about that move and how that felt - being woken up at fourin the morning and being moved.

P: I don't know. I really didn't feel nothing because I went back to sleep.

I: Oh, you went back to sleep.

P: Then I woke up, in like a gate, called sally port.

I: OK The sally port in a jail? [P: Yeah .] Or in a detention center?

P: Yes . [Pause.] I remember getting out of the car, and they was bars all around, and stuff

I: How did that make you feel when you woke up and saw all that?

P: I felt like an anim?l.

I: Felt like an animal?

P: Yeah.

I: How come it made you feel like an animal?

P: It .... I guess thinking about everybody else being able to go to the mall, go shopping, go to the movies. And you had to sit there and eat liquid egg and nasty food and

... [pause].

I: Did you feel like you were caged up?

P: [Nods yes.] 162 I: Anything else you can tell me about what it's like to have to move fromplace to place? You talked a lot about being depressed and down and out. Anything else come to mind?

P: Mad.

I: Mad. What makes you mad about it?

P: Them moving me so much.

I: OK. What's the thing about moving you so much that makes you mad?

P: When I was at home I had to move a lot. I was, like, in nine, ten different schools.

I: So even beforeyou got taken into care, you moved a lot?'

P: I've lived in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, all over the place.

I: What was that like having to move fromplace to place even with your family?

P: It wasn't real bad. [I: OK.] Because I was with my family. [I: OK.] Well, the first time I got put in State's custody, when I went to Freewill, I was just .... I wanted to kill the judge. 'Cause it wasn't even my mom's fault. It was my dad's fault. Itwasn't my fault, either.

I: So you got real angry at the judge formaking that decision?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. It sounds like ... you mentioned being depressed and down and out, but also, mad and angry._ Any other feelingsyou can think of?

P: [Nods no.]

I: OK. Is there anything that makes you feel either safe or unsafewhen you move to a new placement?

P: No, not really. Justwh o's going to be there, or whatever. 163 I: OK. Who's going to be there. Tell me more about who's going to be there. Does that make you feel safe or unsafe, or what do you think about that?

P: K�n�a unsafe. [I: OK.] Not knowing who I'm going to be around.

I: You don't know who you're going to be around?

P: Well, if I know somebody there, or something, I'll feel more safer. [I: OK.] I don't know, I guess because I have somebody to talk to .

I: OK. So that's- important to you? [Nods yes.] Talking to somebody?

P: Yeah.

I: Tell me how that helps, to talk to somebody.

P: Um ...

I: Or knowing somebody there.

P: Only reason, I was lonely.

I: OK. You're lo_nely, and you know somebody, and can talk to somebody. That helps?

P: Yeah. Helps a lot.

I: OK. Is there anything else that makes you either safe or unsafewhen moving? You said that if you know people, that helps. If you don't know them, it doesn't.

P: [Nods no.]

I: OK. If one of your peers were going to move a new placement, what would you say to him that would help himwhen he moves?

P: Good luck. Try and do better. [I: OK.] [Can't make this out.]

I: If a new kid came to this placement and got put in your cottage, what would you say to him to make him feel better - make him feel safer - about being here.

P: I don't. 164 I: You don't? What do you mean?

P: We peed in one kids shoes and were just mean to new kids.

I: H�w come you're mean to new kids?

P: I don't know. I guess because everybody was mean to us when we were new.

· I: In all the places or in this places or what -they were mean to you? P: I don't know. When I went to Blount County detention, every body was nice to me.

[I: OK.] I just talked to them and played cards and watched Discovery Channel all day.

I: OK. You said that at other places they were _mean to you? Or was it just here?

P: Mostlyhere. Or, when I went to Freewill, I got beat up, and stuffl_ike that.

I: Tell me about being at Freewill and getting beat up. How'd that make you ...

P: I didn't really get beat up. This kid was three of four years older than me. And he

said something, and I answered his questions,. and he smacked me in the face. So, ....

I: How did you feelafter that?

P: Bad.

I: What made you feelbad about getting smacked?

P: _Just having to be around a bunch of older kids.

I: OK. So that wasn't a good thing, to be around older kids?

P: [Nods no.]

I: What worried you about that?

P: I just didn't like ... I was just scared of getting beat up.

I: Oh, OK. And you said that there was new kid here and y'all peed in his shoes and did

some other tl).ings like that. Why do you think that you and other guys did that?

P: [Embarrassed smile.] I don't know. 165 I: You don't know?

P: No.

I: OK. [Pause.] If you were leaving to go to a new placement, what could the staffhere say or do for you that would help you to feel safe in moving to a new place.

P: Nothing, really.

I: Nothing. [P: Nods no.] How come?

P: I .... I don't know .... I just ... Ifl don't feel safe, I don't feel safe. There's nothing that will help about it.

I: OK. Do you usually feel safe when you move .... If you findyou'r _e going to a new place, or do you feel unsafe?

P: Sometimes I feel safe, sometimes I don't.

I: OK. What makes the difference in feelingsafe or unsafe?

P: Uh .....hm .... [pause]. Well, like, places that I've already been, I feel safe.

I: So if you go back to a place, you feel safer?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. What aboutthe other places - if you don't know where·you're going, never been there.

P: I don't feel safe.

I: OK. What �akes you feelunsafe about those places.

P: I don't_know anybody there, or ..... I ain't never been there, don't knowwhat it's like.

I: OK. If you just arrivedat a new placement, what's thingsthat staffcan do foryou that can make you feel saferabout being there?

P: Nothing. 166 I: Nothing?

P: [Nods no. }

I: Is �here anything that anybody can do to help you feelsafe at a new placement?

P: [Can't make this out.] My peers did, and I felt safer.

I: Yourpeers did? [P: Yeah.] What's some of the things they did that helped you to feel safe?

P: Justtell me that this was ·a good place. [I: OK.] Stufflike that. [I: All right.] Just positive peership.

I: Being positive peers just helps a lot?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. Well, anything else you can tell me at all about having to move different places or feeling safe o� unsafe?

P: [Nods no.]

I: You've told me a lot of good stuffhere. Thisis really helping me. Is there anything good about moving to different places?

P: No.

I: No?

P: [Nods no.]

I: Nothing good. Tell me the worst thing about all this moving stuff.

P: [Pause.] Worrying about your parents.

I: Worrying about your parents. What sort of things do you worry about?

P: How they're going to findyou, .or, if they know where you're at. 167 I: If you had to choose a best thing about moving, is there a best thing? Can you find a

best thing?

P: [!fadsno .]

I: No. OK. Well, anything else you can tell me that would help me to understand what

it's like to move places or help me to understand what it's like to help kids feel safe?

Anything that staffcan do?

P: [Nods no.]

I: All right. Well, I appreciate you talking to me. [P: You're welcome.] You've given

me a lot of good information.

[Tape was turned off We continued talking.]

I: We just started talking a little bit more. What did you just say to me?

P: Ah ..... I mean, you just ... I don't remember now.

I: You said that there is nothing that anybody can say ..

P: There is nothing that anybody can really or do to make you feelbetter about moving.

[I: OK.] You just have to tryto do it on your own. [I: OK.] Find out foryour own.

I: What sort of things do you find out ...what sort of things do you look for?

P: You don't reallylook fornothing, it just comes to you.

I: OK. Is there ·anything in particularthat just comes to you, and you figureout, "Hey, this is going to be OK?" Is there something ....

P: Yeah.

I: What is it?

P: When people start being good to you.

I: OK. [P: Like that.] What people? Staff? Kids? 168 P: Staff, peers.

I: What are some of the things that they do that you show you that they are being good to you? [Pause.] Can you think of anything that has ever happened and you thought, "This is OK? This is good?"

P: No, not really. [I: OK.] You must have to ....It just comes to you, and you notice ~ . what you people do that's good foryou. And you notice what people are trying to help and what people aren't.

I: OK. Anything else?

P: No. 169 Interviewwith #82

Age: 13

Race: White

Moves: 15

Placement: Level 2

I: First of all, I'd like foryou to tell me all the places you've been while you've been in care. So, if you would, just go throughthe list and tell me where you lived and where you moved to.

P: In Morristown, it started in Morristown, [I: OK.], then we moved to White Pine.

White Pine is when I went to Peninsula forthe firsttime. [I: OK.]

I: So, you ....I'm sorry to interrupt. When you were in Morristown and moved to White

Pine, that was with your fa mily?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Alright.

P: That's when all the problems started, when we moved to White Pine.

I: OK. And then when you got to White Pine, where did you end up going?

P: Peninsula.

I: OK. Then afterPeninsula.

P: Valley. Like three months later was Valley. [I: OK.] Then I went into State Custody.

[i: OK.] Andthen a fosterhome in Scott County. [I: OK.] Then they got closed down.

So, I went to one in Newport.

I: So, another foster �ome. 170 P: Then, back to Peninsula after I leftthat foster home. [I: OK.] Then when.I got back out of Peninsula, I went to YES and stayed for about a week. [I: OK.] I came to Holston · afterI leftYES . Then I lived here about a month, and then I went to Woodridge. [I:

OK.] And when I got back out of there, I went back to YES for about fourdays. [I:

OK.] (Pause.)

I: Earlier [ reflectingback to the list we had previously made of allhis placements] you said that afterYES, did you go home.?

P: Yeah. [I: OK.]

I: Then after you went home where did you go to? Is that the Hamblem County jail?

(Showing him the list of placements.)

P: Yeah. [I: OK.] I was there overnight until my mom got back.

I: OK. So you were there overnight. And then fromthere where did you go?

P: Back to YES.

I: Then after YES.

P: To a foster home in Morristown. [I: OK.] Then, came back to Holston.

I: You told me earlier afterYES, you went to JCDC for a while?

P: Yeah.

I: And then you went to Clinton Detention Center?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Then afterthe detention center? You went back to the fosterhome?

P: Yeah.

I: And then to Holston.

P: Yeah. 171 I: OK. All right. So, all together it looks like you've been fifteen places? Is that about right?

P: [Nods yes.] In eight months.

I: You did all this in eight months? So you didn't go into custody until you were - were you fourteen or fifteen? [I mistakenly looked at the number of relocations on his data shee� and took that to be his age.]

P: Hm?

I: Oh, did you go into custody when you were thirteen?

P: When I was twelve.

I: When you were twelve.

P: My birthday was like two weeks ago today.

I: OK. So you just turned thirteen. So you went to fifteen placements in eight months.

P: Yeah.

I: Well, the firstthing that I want to ask you is what's it like to have to move fromone place to another ...

P: Mostof the time, you really don't knowwhere I'm going to go. [I: OK.] But when I get there, most of the time the let me call. [I: OK] But some place hadn't let me call my mom. When I firstcame into custody, that foster home, in Scott county, I didn't talk to her the whole time I was there. They wouldn't let me call ..

I: You didn't get to talk to your mom. [P : Nods no.] How did that make you feel?

P: I got mad, becauseyou know, I'm supposed to be able to contact my mom once a week. 172 I: [I asked the participant to move his hands from in front of his mouth so that we can

hear him on the tape recorder.] So you got mad at that?

P: Then, when I went back to Newport, that was closer to home, so. [I: OK.] And they

let me go home, or go spend time with my familya lot. [I: OK.] When I went there, you

know, it was crazy there in Newport.

I: What was crazy about it?

P: Like, there was bugs everywhere.

I: Bugs in this, was it a fosterhome?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Tell me what else it's like when you move fromplace to place. [Pause.] You

talked about not being able to contact your family.

P: You're never going to know when you're going to go home. [I: OK.] Until you have

a staffing. Then, if you get moved fromthat place then you have to have another staffing.

I: So you just don't know, huh? [Pause.] Anythingelse you can tell me about having to

move all these times?

P: It'shard. Yoti just get settled in, then you got to get all your stuffback together, go to

another place. Get used to it, and they'll move you again.

I: So, when you get used to things, you have to go again, huh?

P: Yeah.

I: What's it feel like when they tell you that you have to move somewhere?

P: It's, just, you know,here we go again. Like, I'll be at one place for a month and then they'll move me. And see, if I'm doing good where I'm at, I don't see why they just 173 don't leave me there? 'Cause, ifl get to tallcto my mo m and everything, they why don't

they just leave me there?

I: So, if you 're doing good you think that you ought to get to stay at a place?

P: [No ds yes.]

I: Andit helps to talk to your mo m when you 're at a place?

P: [No ds yes.]

I: OK. Is there anything that makes you feel either safe or unsafewhen you move to a

new place?

P: There was, forthe last two night, somebody's been playing with t�e smoke detectors.

They've been pushing them for the past two nights. I almost lost my home pass last

night, because somebody was doing it and they didn't knowit was, so they was going to take everybody's home pass.

I: So, how did that make you feel when they were playing it and threatening to take home passes?

P: I was just sayfog, if I findout, if I end up losing my home pass, and I findout who

done it, they're going to be sorry.

I: OK. So, did that incident make you feel safeor unsafe?

P: Unsafe, because, you know, what if there really is a fire somewhere, and you think that, well, somebody's just playing with it; ignore it.

I: OK. So, you wanted to know if it was real or not, huh?

P: Cause you cari't ju mp up and downevery time they do it.

I: OK. [Pause.] Whatabout some of the other places that you've stayed, is there anything that's made you feel safeor unsafewhen you got there. 174 P: That fosterhome in Morristown, I's at, I was staying in the very back room. Like, it was behind the door. It looked like it was supposed to be a storage closet.

I: Re�dly? How did that make you feel staying in there?

P: Like they didn't even care, you know. Like they were just in it forthe money.

I: So, you had to stay in this tiny little room and you wondered if they cared about you?

P: Yeah. Prettysoon, her and my mom was good friends, but then pretty soon, she was saying, "Well, you're not calling your mom no more." And, you know, I'd have to sneak getting out and call my mom or she would never let me call. So, and then, one of her little boys hit me with a bat, a plastic bat, so I took it and threwit do� across the road.

And she goes and calls the police on me and tells them that I'm out of control.

I: So, what did ...

P: Itmakes me have to start my thing over. Start somewhere else.

I: So you had to move fromthat place when it happened?

P: Luckily, my case worker was nice, and she let me stay home until I went back to court.

I: So you stayed at your home afterthat? [P: Yeah.] For a littlewhile? [P: Nods yes.] ·

Is there anything else that makes you feel safe or unsafewhen you move to these places or you findout that you are moving to a new place?

P: Well, what goes through my head firstis, is my mom going to be able to come and see me? Am I going to -be ableto call my family? That's pretty much it.

I: So that's the most important thing is just being able to stay in contact with your family?

P: [Nodsye s.] 175 I: Whatworries when you can't contact your family?

P: I just makes me mad, you know, because I don't knowif they're OK. They don't know if I'm OK. [I: OK.] Stufflike that.

I: Anything else you can tell me about moving or how you feel safe or unsa(e in places?

P: It'� just that, they put you states custody forthe stupidthings. [I: OK.] If they're going to put you and then stick you in a foster home and give you in-home services, why can't you do it at home? [I: OK.] That's what my case worker said, and they let me stay home a little while a while back, and then they put me back in state custody again.

I: So you think that's how it ought to be done and it would be better?.

P: [Nods yes.]

I: If one of your peers were going to move to a new placement,__ what would you say to him to help him ·re el better about moving or make him feelsafe about where he was going?

P: Tell him to call me whenever he gets there. [I: OK.] You, talk to him beforehe leaves.

I: What would you say if you talked to him beforehe left? Other than "call me."

P: Well, right now, I could say, I've been everywhere. It's not.really that bad. Most places let you call, so.

I: OK. So that helps, knowing you can call?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: If � new kid came to Holston and was put in Hennen House, what would you say to him to make him better and make him feelsafer about being here?

P: Well, if wasn't like [name of client], you know,I'd hang out with him and talk to him. ·116 I: OK. So, you'd hang out with him and talk to him.

P: That's what I did with the two new guys, [ names of clients].

I: O�. So you think that helps them out?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: You said, if he wasn't like [ name of client]. What do you mean by that?

P: [Name of client], I've already pressed an assault charge on him because �e hit ine.

I: OK. How does that make you feelwhen one of your peers in your house is hitting on you?

P: When staffdon't ·do nothing about it, actually, it don't make me feel safe, because if they're not going to do nothing about this, what makes me think that they'll do something about it next time.

I: OK._ So, you need to knowthat staffare going to be there? P: Yeah. Before, I went on a .... beforeI go, I've already counted and seen every single little thing [can't make this out] in my room. I've wrote it down on paper where I know what, cause I know [name of client] will go in there and he'll steal something from me. I wrote it down on paper and I'm taking it home with me, and when I come back, I'm going to I'm going to see what stuff[c� n't make thisout] .

I: OK. So, is that something that worries you, that he is going to come in and steal . . . or how does it make you feel?

P: It's just like, if I don't steal fromsomebody else, when why are going to steal from me?

I: So, you want himto treat you the same - like you try to treat other people.

P: [Nods yes.] 177 I: If you were leaving to go to a new placement, what could staffsay to you to make you feel that it was going to be OK or that �t was going to be safe there?

P: Really, I'd just be mad, because I've already started a new programhere, and I'm already almost ... well, I've got two-and-a-half months left through it. I don't really feel like starting over again.

I: OK. So, if they told you that you were moving, you'd just be mad?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. [Pause.] Sounds like you've had to do that a lot.

P: 'Cuase [name of client], he picks on all of us. He picks on [name

He picks on me, I'm 13. He picks on [name of client], he's 13. He picks on [name of client], he's 12. [I: OK.] But he don't pick on none of the older guys. [Name of therapist], said that that was how [ name of client] was raised up, to pick on littler kids.

I: How does that make you feel when [name of therapist] says that?

P: It just, you know, I wish somebody older than him would pick on him, then he'd know what it feelslike. [I: OK.] We' re just sitting there, playing a game or something, and he comes up and yanksthe controls away from me [can't make this out].

I: OK. [Pause.] So, if you were going to a new place, there's nothing staffcould say; it' would just make you mad.

P: [Nods yes.]

I: If you came to a new place ... if you just arrivedat a new place, what could staffdo or say to help you feelsafe about being there?

P: Itwould take me a while to get used to it. Then, I'd start talking to people. ,. I: OK. What do you mean that it would take you a while to get used to it? 178 P: I mean, ifl'm in a new place I've never been and don't know nothing about. It's going to take me a while to get used to it. I ain't going to tell nobody nothing unless I have to. I don't talk to them.

I: OK. How come you don't talk to people?

P: Well, when I firstget there, I don't because, you know, they're going to think he's just, fromthe way he talks, he's stupid or something. What they talk about, stufflike that.

I: OK. So you want to see what they talk about beforeyou starttalking - and see how people are?

P: [Nodsye s.]

I: OK. Anything else that would make you feel safe?

P: [Pause.] Most places, pretty much, if you're in a place with a lot of older guys it's not really safe, because, a place like that, if they know that they're not going to get to go home, if you startwith them, they're going to whoop you. Because, if they don't get to go home, they're going to say, "What the heck." You know.

I: So, you're saying if they don't get their privilege, they're just going to take it out on other people?

P: Pretty much.

I: Does that worry you?

P: [Nodsye s.}

I: What worries you about it?

P: It's just, you know, I'm in the same place as him. What ifhe takes it out on me?

I: OK. Is there anything that staffcould do? 179 P: Well, really, I don't like the staffup here. I mean, they don't care about us. [I: OK.]

Like when I was up here, like, say if you're going to run, they'll say, "Goahead. " They

won't try to stop you; they won't do nothing.

I: How does that make you feel about them or make you think about them?

P: They don't care if you run, what else is going to make me think that they'll stop somebody frombeating me up.

I: OK. I see. Anything else you want to tell me about that?

P: [Nods no.}

I: Anything good aboutmoving to all these places?

P: Huh uh. (Smiling).

I: You're shaking your head no.

P: No.

I: Nothing at all?

P: [Shakes his head no.]

I: OK. [Pause.] Well, is there anything else you can say to me that helps me to understandwhat it's like to move 15 times in eight months?

P: It'snot like they tell you about it.

I: OK. Well, you've done a very good job and I appreciate this informationyou 've given me. You've helped me to understand this. I' m going to go ahead and tum the tape off.

[The participant began talking some more while he was filling out the instruments, so the tape was turned on again, and he was asked to repeat what was said.]

I: I asked you, what do you think what help kids? And you were gettingready to tell me. 180 P: Well, if they really knew what it would be like when they got in state custody, then, I don't think they would do what they do. [I: OK.] I don't. If somebody likes state custody, they need help.

I: OK. -Anything else you can tell me?

P: That's it:

I: OK. 181 Interview with #86

Age: 15

Race: White

Moves: 13

Placement: Level 3

I: First of all, I'd like for you to tell me all the different places you've been in while you've been in out-of-home care, starting with the very firstone.

P: I was fiveyears old, I went to this to this red-headed lady's house. [I: OK.] I went to this lady named [firstname of fosterparent] no [firstname of foster parent] first, no

...yeah. Then I went to [first name of fosterparent], and she was mean to me.

I: She was mean.

P: [Nods yes.]

I: Now, all ofthese were fosterhom es?

P: Faster homes. And then I went to a group home, where they wouldn't let me see my little sister.

I: OK. And this all happened when you were about five.

P: Yeah.

I: And then afterthe grouphome, where did you go?

P: I went back home.

I: OK. Then, you brought back into care when you were 14. (This prompt was based upon gathering background information beforeth� interview.)

P: Yeah. 182 I: OK. Tell me all the different place you've been in since then.

P: First, I went to a fosterhome fora day. [I: OK.] And then, they foundthat there was a charge on me, so, they sent me to KnoxCounty detention center. [I: OK.] Then, they moved me to YES afterabout a week. Um, then, ah, I came here. I've been here for about ten months.

I: While you were here, you told me you were in Brown House.

P: Yeah. I went to Brown House, and then I went to Smith. [I: OK.] And then I got sent to Peninsula. Then I come back here, and then I got sent back to Peninsula, and came back.

I: And that's all, the different places. [P: Yeah.] It looks like there are thirteen all together counting when you were fiveand then starting again when you were fourteen.

What I'd like foryou to tell me is, what's it like to have to move to all these different places.

P: Depressing.

I: Tell me more about what you mean by depressing.

P: You don't gefto stay and make mends, because all your mends is ... you move from them, and, ah, and people you_ really care about get moved away, and ... Moving just makes me depressed because I got to leave everything that I'm used to. And, just, people that really care about me isn't around no more.

I: So the biggest thing is friends,leaving friends,leaving the people who care.

P: [Nods yes.] And anyhow, I couldn't see my little sister, because most of this stuffis my brothers and sisters. So, that was kind of depressing. I got pretty.... That's where I 183 think that I got most of my anger from.

I: OK. So it made you angry, too. [p: Yeah.] Angry and depressed. Anything else?

P: Um ...... Well, when I was in Knox County, I was kind of disappointed in myself

(Here I asked the participant to move his hands fromin frontof his mouth so that the tape

recorder could pick up his voice.) I mean, I was in Knox County, I was kind of

disappointed at myself and my family, because I was in there a week before Christmas in

state care Christmas, and only my brother and sister come visit me. My mom didn't.

And my mom never comes up to visit me, and she only came up once forfamily therapy.

I: So, how do you feel about your mom.

P: Just, kind of resentment, because you're in here and your parents ain't trying to get you back, and it makes you feelbad.

I: OK. When you were telling me about being in one of the fosterhomes when you were fiveyou said one lady was mean.

P: Yeah. We couldn't drink our juice until afterwe ate dinner, so we was kind of thirsty . � through dinner. Ah, we couldn't watch no TV for, except forLittle House on the Prairie.

If we didn't watch that we had to go to bed. We stayed in our rooms, just like twenty four/seven, uh ... We only got to go outside once a week, into the back yard. My little sister fell offa balance beam about fivefeet high and hit her head, and they just told her to ..... she's all right, �d took her into the house: And they spent the money that my mom sent them to spend on us forChristmas, they spent it on their kids.

1: So you and your sister were at this fosterhome. [p: Nods yes.] And then, were there. any more foster kids?

P: Yeah. 184

I: How many?

P: [Name of foster child] and [name of foster child] and two little girls.

I: So, there were six fosterkids?

P: Yeah.

I: And then they had their own kids?

P: No: The other kids were theirkid s. We was the only two foster kids.

I: Oh, OK. So, you were the two foster kids,and they had four of their own children.

P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. And you remember all that fromway back when you were five, huh?

P: Yeah. I mean, that stuffkind of gets caught in your head.

I: What do you mean my gets caught in your head.

P: Like, you· don't forget highlights of your life. Andthat was one of the lowest points in my life.

I: One of the lowest points. [pause.] Is there anything else that you can tell me about moving when you were that age?. You �ere at three foster homes and then a group home.

Anyother memories stick out?

P: My banana seat bicycle (he said with a smile). [I: (Laughs).] And my big wheels.

I: You've got a smile on your face. Were those good things?

P: Yeah. ° I: OK. Where did you have those - that bicycle and the big wheel?

P: Uh, [name of fost�r parent], I think. [I: OK.] Andthen this other place, some�hing that sticks out in my mind, is the firsttime I saw that Michael Jackson music video 185 "Thriller." [I: OK] 1 got scared, and, a dude brought out a crab and 1 thought it was a spider. [I: (Laughs).]

I: So, Michael Jackson and a crab kind of scared you.

P: Yeah.

I: Anything you can tell me about when you were older, moving between these places.

You talked about .kind of being depressed.

P: I thought I'd never get out. And, uh, so Just gave up trying. Then, I thought rriy family was trying to help me get out, so I started tryingagain. And, I was good forthe longest time, then they moved away and didn't call me forfour month�, and their excuse was, ah, "We thought our rights to you was terminated." They still could of called. But. the best part about being here is people like me and, uh, my step-dad. He's the one who keeps me in my seat and keeps me good, and he likes to take me to NA, and uh,· and likes to take me to movies andstuff. I'm going to spend the weekend with him. [Can't make this out.] So, I'm psyched about that.

I: So, you've got some good thingshappening here. [p: Yeah.] You say that people like you, and your stepfather's staying active with you. [p: Yeah.] P: And he's my ex-stepfather.He don't even have to be around no more. But he-wants to.

I: How's that make you feel because he's wanting to do that.

P: Itmakes me fe_el bad, because I sort of want to go home with my parents, but I want to stay here. Because, in go there then I can't see my step-dad ever again, and I can't go to

NA.

I: So it sounds like your kind of tom. 186 .P: Yeah.

I: Is there anything you can tell me about having to move to all these different places.

You\e given me a lot of good stuff

P: When I was in Peninsula, I was scared, because, man, there's crazy people there. And it's like, woo ..

I: What scared you about the crazy people?

P: Man, they come in clucking like chickens and stuff: man, and all this. And they was so drugged, man, and I was thinking that maybe they was going give me some Thorazine and make me go to sleep, and I wasn't liking that. But they kept me fo� five days. The maximum was thirteen days, and I came back here. Both times it was only fivedays.

I: And you were scared of them popping you with Thorazine?

P: Yeah. And there was two staffI didn't like because they would try to make me mad so I would stay longer. They even told me that, so that I would have to stay longer, and I wouldn't get to come back here. They said, "That was just a test. I don't think you're ready to go out into the world yet" [spoken in a deep, gruffvoice] .

1: So, you didn't like that at all?

P: [Nods no.]

I: What worried you about the people who were coming in there that you said were crazy? What. .. you said you were kind of scared - what were you scared of?

P: Well, I was afraidthey would hurt me.

I: OK. [pause.] Anything else you can tell me about all this? . , ·� P: Ah. ... YES,I like that a lot. One memory sticks out. AndI want to do thisagain. I want to buy a Nintendo 64 and play the "Legend of Zelda" 187

I: You like that video game.

P: That's my favorite video game in the whole world. [1: OK] And they had it.

I: Well, you're already spoken about some of the things I'm wanting to ask you about.

One was, if there is anythingthat makes you feel or unsafewhen you have to move to all

these places?

P: Yeah. Uh ...... Going into states custody, they ain't nobody going to try to kidnap you, because you're a blocked offperson. Unsafe is, there's people here with attitudes, they're bad people. But then there's some nice people here. People who will look out for you.

I: So one of the good things is people who will look to foryou - be nice to you. [P:

Yeah.] And you said that there was people with bad attitudes.

P: Yeah. Andpeople like to steal my video games and hide them in the woods. They even stole my NA chips and tokens that my step-dad gave me and �A gave me, and they threw them out into the woods down by the schooL [I: OK.] So, every time they get mad at me they take something of mine and throw it in the woods.

I: Areyou talking about kids or staff?

P: Kids.

I: OK. So that is some of the attitude that you're talking about? [P: Nods yes.] And then the firstthing you said was about somebody would kidnap you. [P:Yea h.] Is that something that you've been worried about?

P: No. [pause.] They take me to see some scary movies and I get a little bit scared. [I:

OK] I've got an overactive imagination, so when I'm in bed at night, I've got to have a 188 roommate. [1: OK] I'm not scared of the dark. It's just, I'm scared of what's in the dark.

I: Scaredof what's in the dark.

P: Yeah. And I'm scared of my head. My head's crazy.

I: Your head's crazy. [P : Yeah.] What do you mean by tha�?

P: I'll just be standing there, man, and I'll be hearing creepy noises, and I'll be like, monsters ·are going to come get me and they're [ can't make this out] and stuffI just keep thinking about it and I don't stop thinking about it, so.

I: Is that when you're most scared, at night?

P: Yeah. Yeah.

I: Anything else that scares you?

P: Uh ... [paused.] Not knowing the right choices to make.

I: OK. Tell me more about that.

P: I went ...... I got the choice whether to go home or whether I'm going to stay down here. And I just made a choice not to go to that fosterhome, so, uh, I don't know if that was the rightchoice or not.

I: So you had a tough choice, and you're wondering if you made the right one?

P: Yeah.

I: I can understand how that would worry you. So, anything else that makes you feel safe? [pause.] You told me a fewthings.

P: Uh ...... Knowing that I can just come i� my room without getting hit, and stuff

I: Without getting hit.

P: Yeah, at the house I got hit a lot. 189

I: OK. So here you feel like you're not going to get hit.

P: Yeah. Unless I do the hitting first.

I: Who are you maid of that would hit you?

P: Here?

I: Yeah.

P: Nobody.

I: Nobody, staffor kids?

P: No. [I: OK.] The kids are afraidof me, because I do most of the hitting.

I: Oh, OK.

P: I guess that's the way it happens, if you get grown up that way.

I: So you're saying that if you grow up that way, you just keep doing that?

P: Yeah. It'shard to stop, because it's [ can't make this out] but I haven't hit nobody for

a long time.

I: Well, that's good. That's good. Anything else you want to tell me about any of this?

Anything els� that comes to mind.

P: [pause.] This place is funny.

I: How is it funny?

P: There's lots of funny people here.

_ I: What do you mean by funny?

P: They make funnyjokes.

I: Oh, OK.

P: And they do stupid stuffhere that's funny. 190 I: So, is that a good thing?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. So you're seeing that as a good thing - people who have sense of humor.

P: It's a relief

I: OK. It's a relief. A relief from what?

P: Stress.

I: Tell me about the stress.

P: Like, you don't know what's going to happen next and you're on the edge of your seat and your stressed, and somebody comes out with a funnyjoke or acci�entally trips and fallsinto a box. Like earlier, he said, and fellinto a box on accident, and I sort of laughed at that.

I: OK. Whatmakes you stressed and on the edge of your seat? You said you don't know what's going to happen next. [P: Yeah.] Is there anything in particular?

P: Yeah. If a whole bunch of bad stuffshappening at once.

I: What worriesyou about that?

P: It's just that the next that I hit somebody, I'm going to Mountain View [a youth detention center]. I got to make the right choices. If a whole bunch of stuffstarts happening, and then I get pissed offand hit somebody, then I'll go to Mountain View.

I: So, it worries you if you're going to have the right behavior and make the right decisions.

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Let me ask you another question here. If one of your peers were moving to a new placement, and foundout they were leaving here, is there anything that you could 191

say to him to make him feelbetter or safer about where they're moving to?

P: In my opinion, not really. About all you can do is have funwhile you're here - while

you're still here, or whatever, until you go. [I: OK.] Because, you know, if you're going

to go somewhere bad, then there's nothing you can say to make them feel better about it;

they'll just be pissed off. And try to make them laugh and forget aboutit. If they're

going somewhere good, and they're really not sure about it, you can go, "It's going to be

all right, and stuff, you know, these people are going to take care of you, and it's better

than here. And that always gets them.

I: So that helps them?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. What if a new kid came into this house. Is there anything that you can to that

new kid to help them feel safe about being here?

P: Yeah. I can just tell them the rules and help keep them out of trouble. [I: OK.] Like I

always do.

I: So that's something you usually try to do?

P: Yeah. Unless when a new kids gets cockyand triesto jump up in my face.

I: What happens then?

P: Then I've got to show them who's boss. I've got to put them in their place, because

. they're a new kid,· and they don't need to think that they're bigger and better than everybody, because, I know I'm not bigger and better than everybody. And if I can show them that I'm bigger and better than them, then that makes them feel small.

I: OK. [pause.] If you found out that your were going to a new placement, is there 192 anything that staffcould say to you to make you feelsafe about where you were going?

P: It depends on where I'm going.

I: OK,. What do you mean by that, it depends on where you're going?

P: If I'm going somewhere bad, I'm probably going to run.

I: Probably going to run?

P: Ye ·ah. That's just about what everybody does. If I'm going somewhere good, I'm ...

I don't worry about. I won't need nobody to tell me it will be all right, because, if I'm

going somewhere good, I'll know it, and I'll want to go.

I: What makes the places good or bad?

P: Uh, the people, and uh, the level, and how you're treated. Like, being locked up

twenty-four/seven just about in a room is not a good place. [I: OK.] Being in a padded room is not a good place. Being in a nice fosterhome with people who care, that's a

good place.

I: OK. If you just got to a new placement, and just got out of the van, and you got met by a staffperson_. ..

P: Go what?

I: If you just got out of a van at a new place and you got met by a staff[P : Oh.], what's

something they could say to you to help you feel safeabout being at that place? P: [Name of stafl],he, [name of staff),he joked aroundwith us and made us happy, and he just said, "You know, at fiveo'clock our sta� leave and you're here by yourself'

And I think, yeah. And were like, "Really?" He's like, "No."

I: So, having a sense of humor [P: Yeah.] helps you feel more comfortable. [P: Yeah.]

Is there anythingelse staffcould do? 193 P: No really.

I: OK. [Pause.] Is there anything good about moving to all these different places you've move� to? Has there been anything good about the whole process?

P: Yeah.

I: What's that.

P: You get to see different places. [I: OK.] But the bad thing is, you ... I can't remember my way around anywhere. We've been to Wal Mart about a h�ndred time, up there in Johnson City, and I don't even know my way there. [I: OK] I didn't even remember my way to my house when we went on a home pass. Stuffl_ike that.

Because you see so many things that look alike.

I: OK Well, that's all the questions I have for you. Is there anythingelse you want to tell me that you think would help me to understand what it's l*e to move or about feeling safeor anything?

P: Oh. Well, when you move, the firstthing is, fear. Like, you're afraidof what's going to happen, who you're going to meet next, and that person could be you're new best friend foryour whole life or be your new worst enemy forthe rest of your life, or they could just be a partof your life forjust a small time. Me, myself, I've never seen somebody die, and I don't want to. And, uh, ... I hear a lot of people with depressing stories about how peopledied when they moved. Like, some, I know depend on me, because they say that if l move, then they'll commit suicide and that kind of depresses me a lot, and makes me scared, anduh ...... I you got a girlfriend, man, and she's like, "Don't move. " Because, I can't stop it. And then you've got to end the relationship like that, too. But afteryou move, you can either like it andmake the best of it or not like it and 194 make the worst of it and get in trouble all. the time, and get sent somewhere bad, worse.

It's really what you make of it. Like, I was in Knox County and I didn't think that it was

. . all that bad, and I was locked up twenty-threehours a day. I got watch TV. I got to sleep. I got to do whatever I wanted, as long as I was in my room. See, I made it out to be a good place. Everybody else, was like, "It sucks." 1 didn't try to pick fights or nothing. But if you try to pick fights, you get to stay there longer, and stufflike that. [I:

OK] Over Christmas is the most depressing time being in a home, because you're away from you're family, and uh... But if you're like me and never had a really good, it's not all that bad. But when your family don't come to visit you, then it makes you want to hurt yourself

I: That's a hard thing when your family doesn't want to come and visit.

P: Yeah. When your family don't put forthno effort. You're like, "It ain't workingno more." You want to hurt yourself or somebody else. A lot of pent up anger; and you like to beat people up, or try to.

I: So that has more to do with your family not visiting than being in custody.

P: Well, it got all of it to do with both.

I: OK

P: That's just about it.

1: All right .. You gave me a lot of good information. I'm going to go ahead and tum this off

[While the participant was fillingout the instruments, he thought of one more thing that he wanted to add. The tape recorder was turnedback on.] 195 P: The depression that followswhen moving and being in cust��y, it kind of makes you want to do drugs. That's when I starteddoing drugs, and I thought it would make me feel better.

I: So you started doing drugs when you got taken into care [P: Yeah.] as a way to deal with the depression.

P: Yeah.

I: Anythingelse you want to tell me about that?

P: Yeah. Then afterI went to NA, it tried to make me not want to even do the drugs that the doctorgave me formy depression, and uh, and it kind of makes y�u feel bad that you did it, and it brings on more depression.

I: QK. Anything else.

P: No, that's it.

I: OK. Thanks. 196 Interview with #87

Age: 16

Race: White

Moves: 7

Placement: Level 2

I: The firstthing that I want to ask you is to tell me all the different places you've been

in while you've been in out-of-home care.

P: I've been in Scott County Detention. [I: OK.] There fortwo-and-a .:.half months. [I:

OK.] AfterI got out ofthere, I was sent to YES. And then I was sent back to Scott

County. [I: ·OK.] And, I got sent to Holston Home for assessment.

I: OK. So after Scott County you went to Holston Home.

P: Then I went to Brown Cottagefor treatment . [I: OK.] And then afterI had my treatment, I went to a foster home. And then, I went to, all right .... The fosterhome wasn't workingout, because I was having problems with my, ah, drug issues. So, they

sent me back here forrespite. So, I came back here for respite and they kept me here,

because they thought their NA program could help me here. [I: OK.] So, they sent me

.... I came back here for.. . . I came back here and they kept me here forpermanent, so.

[I: OK.] I'm back here at Holston in Brown Cottage. [I: OK.] Or, Smith Cottage.

I: OK. So, that's seven placements all together. I'd like to ask you what's it like to have to move from one place to another? You've moved to seven different places, so what's that like? 197 P: It's messed up. Confusing. It's .... You get used to one, or, you get used to one place and you get moved again. It's weird.

I: OK. You said it's confusing. What's confusing about it.

P: I thought that I was going to stay at the fosterhome, and they told me I was going ....

When I went to the foster home, they told me I was going forrespite, and when I got off to Knoxville for respite, I got there and they told me that I was going back to Holston, and they lied to me, and I got there, and I was very disappointed, because they sent me_ back here. And, it's, like, it's very confusingto get sent different places. It's upsetting, that you get sent to so many different places. It's hard.

I: So, you were saying that they told you one thing, that it was going to be respite, but they, when you got there ...

P: Yeah. They lied to me and sent me here.

I: How did you'feel about being lied to?

P: I didn't like it. It made me mad.

I: [Pause.] Anything else you can tell me about what it's like to have to move to all these different places? You've given me a lot of good descriptions of your feelings.

P: It'sjust hard; it's hard on people. It's hard on the kids here that are moving, and, but, we don't know nothing that's going on, because the staffdon't really tell us much when we get moved. One stafftells you one thing and ci:nother staff.tellsanother one. The staff really don't know much around here. It's the higher staffthat know the stuffaround here, and it's hard when you get moved.

I: Does that add to the.confusion, you think [P: Yeah.] when staffare telling you different things? i .. .

198 P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. Now, you said that afterthi s foster home, you got moved back to Holston, and you were told something different. Did you get told where you were going with these other placements you were in?

P: Yeah, they sort of told me. I wasn't for sure of it when I first came into Holston for assessment; I wasn't for sure ifI was going to stay here. I wanted to stay here, 'cause , in a way I didn't really want to stay here because it was so far away from home. [I: Uh huh.] And then in a way I did, because it seemed like it was going to be .... I liked the programand the staffwhen I firstgot here with [ name of staff]. [I: � huh.] Me and him, he workedwith me real good, and, uh, I got alongwith [name of staffJ OK, and he tried to work with me, and stuff And ... that ... I wanted to work the programhere when

I first got here. [I: Uh huh.] And, I wanted to work the programwhen I firstgot here.

The second time when I came back, [name of staff],they moved him to another cottage,

[I: Oh, OK.] And, I've been here a year and fourmonths, now, in State's Custody, and my parents have to do all this stuffbefore I can go home, and I'm gettingto the point where I'm not wanting to work the program anymore. And I'm tired of having to do that

... put the effort forth on my part to where I'm tired of having to do all the work and my ... parents not doing their stuffto where I can go home. I don't see .... I've tried foster homes, and it didn't work out. [I: OK.] And, I don't want to.go to group homes or I don't want to get adopted, and my DCS worker wants me to go to a, like, an independent living, and I don't wantto do that yet. [I: No?] Because, I'm fixingto be seventeen, and she said that _I could go to that, but I don't want to do that yet.

I: Whydo you not want to do that? 199 P: I just don't want to do that. I want to try to returnhome.

I: Oh, OK. So, you're wanting to go home,_ but you said you're wanting your parents to

do th�ir part.

P: Yeah. [I: OK. ] Which, my parents were, ah, my mom started doing her stuffwhile

my dad was incarcerated. And, uh, she was gettingall this stuffdone. She was work .....

not getting it done, but in the process of doing her stuff. And my dad got out, and he

won't do his stuff. He says he will, and he just stopped, or, it just, like, hurt me that when

he got out, but I wanted him out, because he's my dad and I love him, and it hurt me

because it stopped me fromreturning home. [I: I see.] And, that just_ like put me back

down, and so now I .... I don't know what I want to do, because I'm sorta wanting to

returnto foster care until my mom .... My DCS worker says I might be able to return

home without my dad doing his stuff. [I: Uh huh.] 'Cause my dad might be going back

to jail. [I: I see.] So, I'm not sure. "· I: I see. I appreciate you telling me that.

P: It's been really hard on me here, to [can't make thisword out] with this stuff.

I: I see. When you get to a placement is there anything that makes you feel safe or

unsafe, when you get there? Or finding out you' re moving there?

P: Placements like this?

I: Yeah, or any of the placements you've been - YESor the detention center or the foster

home.

P: Not really. I went to one placement, and I didn'.t feel right, because I had problem when I was in a fosterhome. [I: Uhhu h.] I got caught huffinggas, and I went to a fosterhome forrespite, and when I went out on the back porch to smoke a cigarette, 200 'cause i' m allowed to smoke, and .... and, uh, as long as the foster par�nts doesn't see me, a�d I didn't do it in front of them, and stuff, and I didn't steal the cigarettes. And there :waslike gas cans everywhere, everywhere I looked. And I called my foster mom,

and I was like, I wasn't getting along with fosterkids and the parents didn't like me for

some reason. And called her up was like, "[Name of foster parent], can you come get

me?" She was doing something, and she wouldn't come get me, and I kept getting in

arguments and wasn't getting along with the fosterparen ts. And, uh, the daughter of the

fostermom told me she would smack me if I did something again, in my face. And I told the foster mom and my DCS worker, or my case manager that in the Knoxville office,

and they wouldn't get me, come get me. And I told them that, that I feltunsafe, and that I

didn't feelright there. That, uh, I feel like I was going to relapse in NA, with the gas

cans everywhere. They just told me to go away, to go isolatemyself in the house. And I

said, "How, when everywhere I like there is someone bothering me and everywhere I go there is a gas can." And the still wouldn't come get me, and they made me stay there.

And I felt unsafe, and I feltwrong with the gas cans everywhere. And they �ade me stay there foranother two days.

_ I: So, this was just during respite [P: Yeah.] that this happened? OK. ·So, you were afraidthat with the gas cans, you were going to start huffingagain? [P: Yeah.] And that's what made you feel unsafe. And then this girl who was.i� the fosterhome ....

P: The (? ster mom were being rude, or , she had told me .... She said to me .... I was being rude to her and her mom .... She was saying .... She told me to kissher butt,or something. She said .... And I said something to her, I was being rude back to her, and she said, "I'll just turnmy head, and I don't have to hit, I'll just turnmy head and let one 201 of my sons or my daughter get a hold of you." Andshe threatened me with one of her kids. And she was .... And I feltunsafe because she was threatening me with her kids, and stuff

I: So, was she the one who said that she would smack you, or the daughter?

P: She said she would have her older daughter smack me. [I: i see.] And her daughter said she would smack me. [I: OK.] And her sons threatened me, too. And I told the foster, or my DCS, or my case manager that that was in Holston. [I: Uh huh.] I called her, and called my foster mom, and she would never come get me.

I: How did that make you feelwhen nobody would respond and come get you.

P: It made me upset. They told me if .... My foster mom told me if l feltuncomfortable anywhere, they'd come get me. And when I told her that, she said, "Oh, wh�n I was at home, I told you I'd come get you." It should be the same way anywhere. If I feel uncomfortable, they should come get you.

I: Are there any other things that make you feel either safe or unsafe at a placement?

P: Um .... [Pause.] Not really.

I: OK. If one of your peers here found out that they were moving to a new placement, is there anything that you could say to him to help him feel safer forwhere he was going?

P: Usually, when someone goes to a new placements, if they say that they're going to run, we try to talk to them not to. And we talk them down. We tell them it's not worth it, and stufflike that.

I: Why do they threaten to run? 202 P: Because the �ither think that it's going to be worse or sometime they won't run, or sometime they think it's going to be a Level 3 or Level4 or something li ke that, and want to run, or something like that.

I: OK. If a new kid came into SmithHouse, what would you say to him to make him feelsafer about being in Smith house?

P: "How you doing?" "Um, welcome to Smith," I guess.

I: OK. Just start talkingto them?

P: Yeah. We usually have a group, and we introduce ourselves. [Name of staff] makes us, or not makes us, we just have a group. We just all say our name a1:1dhow old we are and what level we're on, and stuff

I: OK. Do the thinkthat helps �ew kids coming in?

P: Yeah, so they can learnour name and what phase we're on. He gives them peer buddies [can't ma-1<:e this out] and they get with their peer buddies so that they can learn the rules, and stuff

I: OK. Do you thinklearning the rules helps· them?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. If you found out you were leaving here to go to a different placement, is there anything that the staffcould say or do to help you feelsafer about the new placement?

P: I'm not sure.

I: Not sure.

·P: Probably let me go talk to [name of staffmentioned at the beginning of the interview] about it, if he was here. 203 I: So that relationship you have with [name of staff] would help you feelbetter? [P:

Yeah.] Justtalking. [Pause.] If you just arrived at a new placement, what could a staff do when you firstgot there to help you feel that it was going to be a safeplace for you?

P: Which one?

I: A staffor fosterparent.

P: If there's, like people, a bunch of people there, introduce me to the people. Welcome me in, I guess.

I: OK. Anything else that would help me?

P: Um ... explain the rulesand stuffto me.

I: How do the rules, understanding the rules, help you to feelsafe?

P: In case I did something wrong, or .... I would �ike to know, in case ..... [participant stumbled and stammered through this and became quite nervous] .... Let me think.

I: OK. You're going fine. You're telling me good stuff.

P: [Pause.] In case I'm going something wrong or something, so I'm staying safe. That way I know I'm doing something, or what I'm supposed to do. Or if there is some people doing stuffunsafe, I know what I'm doing is right, or just tell someone. That way, I'll be safe.

I: OK. Good. Is there anything good about moving to all these different places?

P: �ome there is, yeah. When you get to go home or go to a fosterhome to get away from here.

I: OK. So, if you're going to a foster home, that's better ...

P: Or a grouphome or something like that.

I: OK. So, you're saying that's better than being in residential treatement? 204 P: Yeah.

I: OK. What's better about it?

P: Y

I: OK. Is there anything else you can tell me about any of this - about what it's like to move or things that can help you feel safe or things that make you feel unsafe? Anything else come to mind?

P: One thing about the move out here is that it's so far away fromyour family. I live a hundred .... A round trip for me, a round trip is 239 miles. So, I don't get to see .... I haven't had one visit since I've been in State's Custody, besides one, when I was in foster car�, and that was when I was in the hospital, when I had surgery. And I ain't had one visit since I've beyn in Holston. And I've been in Holston months, for nine months, and this time for fourmonths, and I ain't had a visit up here once. So, it's been real hard seeing all the other kids having visits and then never having a visit.

I: So, being that faraway fromfamily [P: Yeah.] is hard.

P: To move. Move placementsway up here.

I: Tell me what it's like to be so faraway fromthem. What do thinkabout or how do you feel?

P: [Pause.] Itmakes you miss them when you can't be around them.

I: Anything else you want to tell me?

P: That's it.

I: OK. Thanks. 205 Interview with # 88

Age: 16

Race: African American

Moves: 9

Placement: GroupHome

I: The first thing I want to ask you is to tell me all the different places you've been while you've been in out-of-home-care.

_P: I was in Juvenile in Blount County. [I: OK.] Then I was in Knox_County Juvenile.

Back to Blount County Juvenile. And then I went to Miller Town GroupHome. I left fromthere, so I went back to Blount County again. Then I came here to Holston Homes, and I_was in Brown Cottage, and then i moved to Hennen Cottage. And now I'm the group home.

I: OK. And you told me that you went to Blount County twice in a row, there first, beforeyou went to Knox County. Is that right?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. All right, so that looks like its nine placements altogether there. I just want to ask you, what's it like to have to move in and out of all these placements? You've been to nine different places counting detention a few times. Whafs that like moving back and forth?

P: It's kinda weird. Can't really get comfortable at any places like that moving so much. But it really depends, 'cause it helps you sometimes to move. [I: OK.] Like· if you step down or step up or something. 206 I: OK. So, if you step down it helps?

P: Yeah, it meets your needs more.

I: OK. Allright . Then you said, firstof all, that it's kinda weird because you can't get comfortable. [P: Yeah.] What makes it uncomfortable or feellike you can't get comfortable?

P: Like, you miss the other place that you were at. You, just are used to all these other's rules, and stuff, and then when they move you, it's a whole new story. It's like, basically, you're a slave. You got no say-so in it. And then they're just going to move you again afterthat. [I: OK.] Basically, you're just there.

I: So, you've got to get used to a whole new set of rules.

P: Yeah. You said, you missed the old place you were. What are some of the things you miss about it?

I: Like, how I was comfortable there and how I had already learned all the rules there, and how I knew what to do there and knew what they expected of me. I just feltlike I was comfortable staying there.

I: OK. Once you got used to things ...

P: Yeah, one� I got used to things.

I: OK . You used and interesting word; you said you're kindalike a slave at a place.

What do you �ean by that?

P: Like, when you move to a new place, they just tell you what to do. When you don't know what to do, so you just whatever they say to do, 'cause you don't want to get in trouble. [I: OK.] And then when you do get in trouble, you get madder because you 207 don't know what �o do. [I: OK.] They don't really make it clear to you what to do anyway when they first assess you in any of them .

I: So.things aren't clear when you go in.

P: Yeah. I don't think they do their job enough, like making things clear when they first .

. . . when a kid is first assessed in any new placement. I think they expect you to learn off the other kids .

I: OK. What do you think they ·could do better,instead of having to learnoff the other kids?

P: Letyou know everything when you firstcome in .

I: OK. What do you think would be the best way to do that?

P: Mrnm.... . Maybe the other could explain all the steps and the rules and.everything else that needed to be gone over with you.

I: OK. Anything else you can tell me about moving from one place to another - what it feelslike, what you think?

P: I don't know. Like, some people worry, 'cause they don't know what they about to go into.

I: OK. What do they worryab out?

P: I don't know [laughs]. Probably worry, like, who's all going to be over here and is there anybody I knowor .... I wonder if the staffare going to treat me different over here.

I: Worried about where they' re going. You said, some people wonder if they're going to know anybody. Does that help - to get to a placement and you know somebody?

P: You can feel a little bit more comfortable,because that person can help you learn things fater. 208 I: OK. So, you've kinda got an inside person there to help you to get things done.

You talked about how people are going to treat you. Tell me more about that. What do people worry about abouthow people are going to treat them?

P: Whether or not if there is racist staffor if there is staffthat just come in with a bad day everyday, or if there's staffthat 's happy and staffthat like to do things forthe kids - like to go out of their way, a little bit, in theirjo b to do things forthe kids. Or if there's just staffthat 's just there because they have to be there to make their money.

I: You don't want staffwho are just there fora job, huh?

P: Yeah. You usually don't get along with them well.

I: OK. [Pause.] Is there anythingthat makes you feel safe or unsafewhen you go to a new placement or findingout you're moving to a new placement?

P: [Pause.] I guess it woul4 make me feelsafe if somebody welcomes �e there.

I: OK. Give me an example of how somebody could welcome you in.

P: Like, how everybody has a group, sometimes, forthe new kids there, aridsays, "Hey," and their name, and all that stuff. [I: OK.] And let somebody show them where their room is and stufflike that.

I: OK. Anything else that makes you feel safe?

P: [J.>ause.] Nah.

I: OK. What about unsafe? You mentioned a few things, like being uncomfortable. Is there anything else that makes you feelsafe when get somewhere - when you find out you're moving somewhere? 209 P: Just say like you 're going to a placement where they won't meet your needs. Like, if you ' re a level two kidand they send ·you to a level three placement, or something, just to testyou to see if that's you need to be, you could feel unsafe.

I: OK. What are some of those needs that you wan t to have met when you go somewhere?

P: Like, I don 't want stricter rules, because I'm a level two kid. [I : OK.] And, I don't want to be around a whole bunch of level three kids that just runningaround crazy and stuff, 'cause I'm not like that.

I: OK. Tell me about those kidsrunning around crazy. What would you not like ... .

P: Like, doing level three things.

I: Tell me some of those things.

P: [Said with a smile.] I don't really know because I've never been [I: (Laughs.)] assessed for[can 't make this out]. I wasn 't assessed fora 1evel three.

I: OK. What have you heard about level three kids and what they do.

P: They do level three things. (Laughs.)

I: Level three things. OK.

P: They disrespect the staff, and disrespect ev erybody, and some of them try to do good,

I guess. Some of them really shouldn't be level three material. But the ones who are just don't care. They kinda like it there, I guess, so they want to stay there. [I : OK.] So, they 're going to pull anybody else into it that they can .

1: So, you're saying you don't want to be around that - that stuff, huh?

P: Yeah . I think they should schedule like a [can 't make out this word] meeting where they could assess the kids there at such a high level if they didn't really know them, like 210 firstimpression, or anything. [I: OK.] 'Cause after, like, the firstfifteen days of my

assessment, they assessed me for a level two. I reallydid n't need level two. My therapist

told me I really didn't need level two. 'Cause when I went to Hennen,everybody was

just cussing and throwingthings and flipping TV's over and stuffand throwing apples at

the staff. So, I �as just sitting back, and stuff, not getting in trouble. They said that I

needed to be in level one. So, they hurried up and moved me over here.

I: How did that make you feel when you say all that going on - flipping TV's and

cussing, and throwing stuffat staff.

P: (Laughs.) I just laughed at 'em. (Laughs.) Tried to help them, b�t none of them

would listen. [I: OK.] So, I just let them do what they do. 'Cause, they were having

[can't make this out], so there was nothi?gI could do about it.

I: OK. Anything else you can think of that makes you feelsafe or unsafe in a

placement?

P: It makes you feel unsafe if you come in the first day you get there and the staffthat' s

there is just there fortheir job, like we were talking about before. If there's one of those

kind of staffthere, their just like, "Here's your stuff. Yeah. You go there. Blah, blah.

Blah, Blah." And you don't really see them forthe rest of the day, or whatever, and then

they come back the nextweek and talk, whatever. It just doesn't seem like anything' s

going with them. 'Cause anything you do halfway out of the.rules, you get in trouble

for, so ...

I: So, you want a staffwho does their job? [P: Nods yes.] Anything else?

P: I guess that about it. 211 I: OK. [Pause.] If one of your peers fromhere found out they were moving to a new

placement, is there anything you could say to any of to help them feel that like it was

going to be safewhere he was going?

P: (Laughs.) I would tell them just to go down there with a good attitude. Don't go in

there thinking that it going to be what it's not going to be. It's going to be whatever you

make out of it.

I: OK. Tell me more about "whatever you make out of it. " What do you mean by that?

P: It's going to be good if you go in with a good attitude and accept it forwhatever it is

and try to make it a good experience. [I: OK.] Usually, everybody t�at leaves from here

and goes to other places, they don't want to leave.

I: Why not?

P: I don't know. I guess they got too attachedto stuffhere and the rules and everything.

Nobody really liked it when they firstcame over here, 'cause they were attached to the

Wiley Center's rulesand everything.

I: So, once you get attached to a place, it's hard to leave?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. If a new kid came into the Boy's Group.Home, what would you say to him to help him to feel.safe about being here?

P: I'd help him know what really goes on here, and stuff, and.what they expect, fromthe staff, and what they expect from the clients.

I: OK. So, just tell them what to expect and ...

P: It could help them a lot.

I: OK. 212 P: We did get a new kid yesterday, though.

I: From?

P: Wiley Center.

I: If you were going to a new placement is there anything that staffcan say to you to help you fellbetter of feelsafer about where you were going?

P: [Pause.] I don't really think so.

I: OK. Why not?

P: . 'Cause I don't think that staffhas ever told me anything moving to a new placement that, like, made me feelbetter about going there.

I: Oh, OK. You've already told me some of this, but I'm going to ask this question again. When you arrive at a new placement, what can staffdo, what can they do to help you feelsafe? You talked about letting you know what the rules are, expectations, doing a group. Anything else?

P: [Pause.] I can't think of anything other than making you feel welcome.

I: OK. Make you fell welcome. [Pause.] Is there anything good about moving?

P: Sometimes you get away fromstuff that was kinda holding you down. [I: OK.] Like, if you're having a problem with a staffhere, or something, or at Wiley, and you just got tired of it, or there wasn't nothing happening foryou and then they moved you, probably it could help you.

I: ·-oK. Anything else good about moving?

P: [Pause.] You could kinda already know what to expect before you go there.

I: Ifyou know what to expect, [P: Yeah.] that helps.

I: Alright. 213 P: You feel like you've got a chance to start over, too, fromwhere you were at .

I: So, starting over I is helpful. [P: Nods yes.] OK. Is there anything else at all you can tell Ill:eabout this experience - about moving from place to place or feeling safeor unsafe?

P: Nay, that's it.

I: Let me ask you something about your time in detention. You went back to Blount

County, probably three or fourtimes. Did it ever get any easier to go back there, or was it about the same each time you went back.

P: Itwas about the same each time. Blount Countyis pretty rough.

I: Is it? What's rough about it?

P: I don't know. They just lock you in your rooms. You got .... when you firstget there, yo·u gottahave 24 hours in just the cell, and then you get to come out to the day room, which is about as big as this [ motioning to the room we were sitting in]. And your ceW s in it, and that's all you've got. You can play cards, and they're always late with your food.

I: So, you don't eat on time.

P: Yeah (laughs).

I: OK. What about when you got at Holston, because you were at Brown and then moved to Hennen and then the Boy's Group Home. Was that.easier or harder because you were at the same agency?

P: I think that it was a little bit easier, 'cause when I moved form assessment to Hennen, there was a lot stricter rules at assessment, 'cause that's level three. �d then they have to assess you to level one, or two, or three from there. And they had all level three rules , 214 and stuff And I thought I learned all those rules and felt comfortable, and it was kindaa relief going to Hennen, 'cause they had lesser rules [I: OK.] and a lot more privileges.

I: OK. What was it like, then, to come over to the Boy's Group Homes?

P: Can't really say (laughs). It was supposed to be a relief, and a lot more privileges and lesser rules, but there's not really. I don't know, I feellike I'm in assessment, kinda.

I: So, it feelslike this is just as strict as assessment.

P: Yeah (laughs). It's not supposed.to be, but it ..... [I: OK.] But if you ask any of the other kids, they'd probably say worse than what I'm saying.

tell about any ofth�se 'questions I've I: OK. This is good stuff. Anything else you can. asked you about moving or what makes you feel safe or unsafe.

P: Nah, that's it.

I: OK. Allright. Good. 215 Interview with #89

Age: 14

Race: White

Moves: 4 *(see note below)

Placement: Level 3

I: The first thing that I want you to tell me is all the different places you've lived in while you've been.in care.

P: Lakeshore. Haslam. And, ah, Holston Home - Smith Cottage.

I: OK. You started out at Smith Cottage, here. That's just three placements all together.

Is that right?

P: Yeah.

*[Wh�n the participant filled out instrumentsand gave me background informationa few days before, he stated that he had been to another placement, Mt. View ( a detention center). So, he actually has experienced fourmove s.]

I: OK. What's it like to have to move from one place to another? Like, moving to

Lakeshore, and moving to Haslam, and moving to Holston Home?

P: Itsucks.

I: What sucks about it?

P: I don't know. I mean, I, I had .... I don't know, I was, like, startingto have a pretty good relationship with the therapist at Haslam. [I: Uhhu h.] And, you know, that's just a three-month program there. And, like, when I got here, they said I was staying here for, like, six to eight months, or something. [I: OK.]. And they said, uh, that, like, plus this is 216 like a hundred and something miles away frommy family, and stuff [I: OK.] I don't like that.

I: You don't like that. [P: Nods no.] Tell me about the relationship you were making wit� your therapist at Haslam and having to leave that. What was that like foryou?

P: It pissed me off. [I: OK .] I don't really know what else to tell you. [I:· OK.] Itjust pissed me off

I: And you said that you were over a hundred miles away fromyour family now. What's that like being so: far away fromthem?

P: Hate it, 'cause I_love my parents [I: OK.] ...a whole lot. So ...

I: What's the hardest part about having to be away from them?

P: [Pause.] Not getting any home passes fora long time.

I: OK. So, just not seeing them fora long time? [P : Nods yes.] OK. Anything else you can tell me about what it's like to.have to move between placements? P: [Pause.] Yeah. Um, when ... : like, from what the State's doing, we have no control over it. [I: OK.] We have no say-so. [I: OK.] Itpisses me off.

I: What pisses you offabout having no control and having to just go where they tell you?

P: That, uh, that they don't even know the placement people, you know. [I: OK.] They just place us wherever. They just like say, "Hey, you're going here." And we don't even know why or why not.

I: OK. Anything else you can think of about what it's like to have to move?

P: No.

I: OK. Is there anything that makes you feel either safe or unsafewhen you get to a new place? 217 P: [Pause.] Not really.

I: Not really?

P: I'm just, I'm uncomfortable at any placement. I don't know.

I: Wh at makes you uncomfortable at any place?

P: I don't know.

I: [Pause.] Arethere certain things you see or people or ...

P: [Nods no.]

I: OK.

P: I get a weird vibe ev ery time I go to a new place.

I: OK. Any id�a what gives you that weird vibe?

P: Um, no.

I: OK. If one of your peers in Smith House were moving to a new placementis there anything you could say or do forhim to help him feelsafe about where he was going?

P: Yeah. "Good luck, and don't fuckup. "

I: OK. What do you mean by don 't fuck up?

P: Keep your head on straight and don't getinto trouble.

I: OK. . Tell him to stay out of trouble. That would keep him safe?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: If a new kid came here to Smith House, is there anything you could say to him to make him feel safe about being in Smith? Is there anything you could do forhim ?

P: No.

I: Why not?

P: It sucks there. If I told him it would be all right, then I'd be lying. 218 I: OK. So, you don't likeit there, and if you told him any different, you'd feellike you'd be lying to �im?

P: Uh huh.

I: OK. If you foundout you had to leave and go to a new placement somewhere else, is there anything that staffcould do to help you fell safeabout where you were going?

Anythingthey could say? [Pause.] Anything you'd want to know?

P: No.

I: OK. Let's say you just arrivedat a new placement, what could the staffthe do foryou the first day to you as soon as you walked in to make you feel safe? [Pause.] At the end of the first day or at the end of the first week?

P: I don't know. Say, "It ain't so bad here," or something.

I: So, just tell you that it ain't so bad here.

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Anything else you'd want to know about the place?

P: Tell me my privileges.

I: OK. Anything else you'd want to know?

P: [Nods no.]

I: So, just tell you it's not so bad andlet you know what your privileges are. That would help?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. Is there anything good about moving to all these different places?

P: Well, if it's like, say, a level two fosterhome or something or level one. That'd be good. Definitelygood. 219 I: OK. So, a fosterhome is going to be better than a residential ...

P: A group home.

I: · A group home. [P: Yeah.] OK. What's better about a foster home?

P.: I don't know. I just heard that it's way better. [I: OK.] You can go to public school most of the time. [I: OK.] And, uh, and you, like, you can talk on the phone a whole lot more. [I: OK.] We only get fiveminutes fora phone call a day. [I: OK.] So, that's pretty straight, I've heard.

I: So, you've heard from others that in foster homes you get more privileges and that would be better?

P: [Nodsyes. ]

I: Anything else good about moving? Has there been anythinggood about the places you've moved?

P: Yeah. It was good to move fromLakeshore to Haslam.

I: What was good about t�at?

P: Lakeshore was weird. Itwas freaky (laughs).

I: Yeah? What was weird and freakyabout it?

P: Some of these crazy people.

I: OK. How did it make you feelbeing around those crazy people?

P: I was starting to that I was really crazy. I was like, "Am I really crazy?," and all that.

I: OK. So being around them, you startedto think, "Am I like them?"

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Andso, getting out of there was good.

P: [Nodsyes. ] 220 I: OK. Anythinggood about moving fromHaslam to Holston?

P: [Pause.] No.

I: OK.. Is there anything else at all you can. tell me about what it's like to move or what makes you or other kids feel safeor unsafe?

P: [Nods no.]

I: -For most kids that live at places like this - at Haslam and Lakeshore -what's the

number one thing staffcan do forthem to help to feelthat their safe- that their OK?

P: Try to actually help them out.

I: OK. ·What do meant by help them out? Give me some examples.

P: Their heartless(smir ks.)

I: What do you mean by their heartless?

P: They don't care about nobody. [I: OK.] Like, ah, this one dude he was laying on the

ground crying, and, ah, a guy at Haslam, he wouldn't let go of his neck. So, I mean it

was right here or whatever (placed his hand at the base of his neck near his shoulder), and

he wouldn't let him go.

I: Did you see that happen?

P: Yeah.

I: How did it make you feel seeing that happen to that kid?

P: I thought that was sick.

I: Any other examples you can give me about what staffcan do? You said, "Help them

out." [Pause.] What can staffdo to help kids feel safe?

P: [Pause.] I don't know. 221 I: Don't know? OK. Anythingelse you want to tell me beforeI tum the tape recorder off?

P: [P_ause.] (Leans down and yells in tape recorder) Halls High footballrules !

(Laughs.) 222 Interviewwith #92

Age: 17

Race: White

Moves: 9

Placement: Level 3

I: The firstthing I want to ask you is to tell me all the differentplaces you've been in. while you've been in out-of-home care.

P: I've been to Blount County juvenile, Scott County juvenile, Lak:es�ore, Peninsula

Village, Jackson Academy. I've been to two foster homes. I went to Cherokee Park, and then I came her to Holston Homes.

I: So you had two fosterhomes?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. So that would be nine different placements. Does that sound about right?

P: Uh huh.

I: OK. I just want to know fromyou, what's it like to move from one placement to another? You've had to do this nine differenttimes. What's it like?

P: It'sstressful not knowing exactly what to expect at your next place or wherever you're going to live.

I: OK. Can you tell me more about the stress and not knowing?

P: There's like, I mean if you go to the residential, in-house kinda deal, you're, like, not knowinghow you're staff' s going to react to you or, you know, it 's, like, you're peers- if they're going to like you or not; how much of their crap of their crap you're having to 223 put up with. That's like .... I don't know, not knowing, basically, how the program's

· going to be run. [I: OK.] I mean, it could be runreal easy to almost, like, jail and it not

being jail.

I: OK. You were talking about crap you had to put up with with other kids and some of

their stuff. Tell me some of the things that concerns you.

P: Uh, mainly, it's, like, if you're new, they just up and attack you if they don't lik� they

way you look or anything [I: OK.] or the way you talk, or stuff.... This petty stuff, like,

....i t's just when you get in there you've got the fear- who's going to hit you and when

they' re going to hit, and could it be frombehind or in front of you or �hat.

I: Has that ever happened to you in some of these places?

P: Ah, it's happened to a bunch of people there. [I: OK.] Fortunately, I've been big

enough and scary enough that they wouldn't mess with me. [The participant is 6'5 and

weighs approximately 270 pounds. He wear long side burns, a goatee shaped into horns

at the bottom and paints his fingernails black. See follow-up question at the end of the

interview.]

I: OK. So, being big and scary kinda helps.

P: Yeah.

I: Yeah. OK. Tell me more about staffand how stafftreat you. You said you wonder

about that.

P: It's like some staffwant to treat you like you're their best friend, and then some, will just .... They don't really care. They don't care, you know, about the kids there. They

don't care about anything but getting a pay check. I mean, like, as long as they're getting 224

their pay check, ..� hey're going to do what they want to with you, and you can't do nothing about it, 'cause it's always staff' s word against ours when we file grievances, and stuff.

Half the time, they believe staff. There's not any, like, physical proof

I: OK. Anything else about having to move places that you can tell me about?

P: Just being away fromfamily, not knowing when you're going to see them again.

I: OK. Tell me more about that. How does that stress you or worryyou?

P: It's, I don't know, it's just, with, like, passes and stuff It's like, if you don't if your

parents are going to be able come up there and get you, or if you're not going to get

passes at all, or if the, the ah ....your ah placement will work out a way to take you down

there or meet them half way or something. You just don't know, exactly, what's going to

go up with that.

I: OK. Anything else come to mind about having to move?

P: [Pause.] No, not really.

I: Is there anything that makes you feel safeor unsafewhen you move to a new

placement? You talked about some of those things. When you find out you're moving or

you get to a new placement, is there anything that makes you feel either safe or unsafe?

P: It .... The firststaff member that I meet. If they're, like, really nice and, like, and you

know, "My name is," and then they'll, like, have some of the other staffcome in, and,

you know, you'll end up being introduced to them. I mean, you can tell half the time whether or not you're going to like them or not [I: OK.] 'cause of how friendlythey are.

And if, you know, if they are busy.or not and real hatefulwith you. If they'll come up to you and tell them that they didn't mean to be that way to you, or whatever. 225 . I: OK. So, how stafftreat you right offthe bat [P: Yeah.] let's you know if it's going to

be a safe place.·

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Anything that makes you feel unsafe?

· P: Uh .... No, not really. I've pretty much grown up in a really rough neighborhood, so

... I mean, I, I can pretty much watch my back.

I: OK. · So you-don't worryabout that whey you go into places? P: Nah. Most people just go and, you know, they can't sleep forthe firstnight or two

'cause they don't know what's going to happen. [I: OK.] They have to get used to it. I

go in and I'm, I'm most of the time comfortablewith it. [I: OK.] 'Cause I've been

around .... I've been pushed around so much aroundDC S, and stuff, it's pretty much,

come to be, come to be my life.[I : OK.] I'm used to it.

I: So, you're used to moving around and having to deal with this stuff?

P: Uh huh.

I: OK. [Pause.] If one of your peers were going to move to a ne"." placement what

would you say to him when he was leaving to help him feelthat he was going to be safe

or OK?

P: Uh, mainly, just ask him a bunch of questions on how it was run? [I: OK.] And, try

to get in good with some of the staffmembers, where they'll, like, believe you if

something, like, actually is going on ..They don't lie on some of the people.

I: OK. If a new kid came to this house, is there anything that you can say to him to help

him feel saferabout being here in Smith house?

P: I'd just go up and introduce myself. I mean its, prettymuch not what you think with 226 most people. It may be in some cases, but [I: OK.], it's like, it may be, you know,

whether or not they like being around many people or [I: OK.] people they don't know.

I mean, I just go up there and try to make myself seem as friendly as possible.

I: OK. So, be friendly, you think, just helps them to feel. ..

P: It makes you relax more.

I: OK. Friendly staffand friendly kids. [P: Nods yes.] If you were leaving to go to a

new placement, is there anything that staffcould do to help you feel safer about where

you were going to?

P: Uh .... I am really getting ready to go to, hopefully go to PAL (Preparation for Adult

Living). [I: OK.] But, its .... They took me up there today, and, I didn't e�actly expect

the kind of people up there that worked there. You know, I mean, they were real nice. [I:

OK.] It'slike, I' don't know, it's .... I really don't worryor anything.

I: You just don't worry?

P: I do a little bit, but not to the extent where I totally freak out. I

· I: OK. Was it helpfulfor you to go over and see the place?

P: Yeah. It was a whole lot more helpful, 'cause I was just trying to imagine it on my

own, and imagine how staffwere, how the place was run. And when I went up there,

they gave, you know, just a little tour of, like, where they stafflives. I talked to the staff

I was like . . . . . Staffwere real nice. They gave me, like, a packet, and stuff, with the

rulesand expe_ctations. They gave me the low down on the level system up there. And it made me feel a whole lot more comfortable, because I knew what I was coming into.

I: OK. Does knowing the rules and expectations help? 227 P: Yeah. I mean, if at all possible, that would be, like, the bigge_st thing that anybody could do for somebody leaving to a different place.

I: 0�. If you leftand got to your new placement, what's something the staffcould do right offthe bat to make you feel safe?

P: I'd say, introduce me to, like, the kidsand the rest of the staff. [I: OK.] That way, you know, I could _see how friendlythey are towards me the first day. And, like, so want to see if gradually, you know, if they get used to having a new kid or whatnot, and then, if they don't, then I'd know exactly who I don't feel safe around� and, you know, who I do. I mean, you could meet somebody that'd be having a bad day and be, like, your best friendthe next. [I: OK.] So, it just ..... Within the twenty-four hour, forty-eight hour difference of just being around them, you can tell.

I: OK. You said, you don't worry a whole lot, that you worry a little bit when you move to new places. What's the number one thing you worry about?

P: Mainly the rules and expectations and how hard they enforce their consequences, and stuff

I: OK. All right. Good. Is there anything good about moving?

P: I mean, sometimes you get closer to see your family. And there's like other times that, you know, you might be having a hard time dealing with your family. At that point, when you get to move somewhere else, I mean, it's sort ofreHeving, and then, you know, it could be, like, sort of, ah, stressfulbecause you're away fromyour family and your not wanting to be away fromthem. It could go either way.

I: OK. So, if things are good withyour family, you wantto be close to them, but if it [P:

Yeah.] But if its ... 228 P: If it's rocky, you don't want .... I don't want to see my familyif it's, like, really, really rocky. I don't even want contact with them.

I: OK. Anything else good about moving?

P: You get to see more of the state.

I: You get to see 'different places, huh?

P: Yeah, and different ways to different places. Now I know .... I know a back road way to Nashville from here. [I: OK.] I'm pretty .... It pretty much teaches me ways to go on the interstate. That way I know how to take a trip when I get out.

I: OK. So you get to know how to travel.

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Is there anything else at all you can tell me about moving or feeling safeor unsafe when you're in care?

P: Nah, that's basically it. I mean, mainly, it 's, like, the first experience of people with, like ... I usually get some .·... What gets me is, like, the firsttwen ty-fourhou rs; you can usually tell.

I: OK. So; the firsttwent y-fourhours makes a big difference.

P: Yeah.

I: OK. Good.

[While the participant was filling out the instruments, I thought of a statement he made that I wanted to explore with him. Afterhe complete the instruments, I turned on the tape recorder again and proceeded.]

I: Earlier, you had talked about being, kinda big and scary looking, and I asked you if that helps, and you said, "Yeah." I just wantyou to tell me more aboutthat . 229

P: It sorta keeps the kids that mainly try to runthe place away fromyou a little. more than it did the rest of them, because they don't know what you're capable of or what you woul� do to them if they did something to you. It they, like, hit you, would you go psychotic on them or like stab them or something. You know, something crazy like that.

I mean, it pretty much keeps them away fromyou. I mean, until you, like, go up to them.

But if they want to test you, they're going to test you. You have to prove what you try to be or act like.

I: OK. How tall are you and how much do you weigh, by the way?

P: Um .... Six-, say about six-five, and last time I was weighed I wei�hed 250. I probably gained a lot more than that being here at Holston.

I: Anything else you do to try to have thatimage?

P: No, not really. I just walk in and, well, I'll pretty much be silent, like, forthe first, like, a couple hours that I'm there. [I: OK.] I prettymuch check everything out, so, that's about it.

I: Tell me more about checking things out.

P: I just watch what everybody does and see who's cool and who isn't, you know, who's afraid of who, 'cause that sortahelps out a lot when it comes to, like, you know, sorta being neutral in the whole game of things. [I: OK.] rhat' s what you want to be. yOU don't want to be on side, always causing the trouble. And you d_on't want to be on the other side, be a goody two-shoes,getting picked on. [I: OK.] You want to sorta stand up for, like, morals andvalues, I guess.

I: OK. Anything else you can think ofto tell me?

P: No. 230 Interview with #93

Age: 13

Race: White

Moves: 14

Placement: Level 3

I: The firstthing that I want you to do is tell me all the different places that you've lived in while you've been in out-of-home care.

P: First place I went was a foster home. Then I went to holding facili�y, level three. [I:

OK.] Then I went to a foster home. Another foster home. Another foster home.

Anotherfoster home. Another foster home. Another fosterhome. Another foster home.

Another fosterhome. Another foster home. [I: OK.] Then, I went to Greeneville

Cottagehere at Hol�ton. [I: OK.] And then I went to Jones Cottage. [At this point, I asked the participant to move forward andbit and keep his hands fromin front of his face

so that the tape recorder would pick up his voice.]

I: And, you told. me that before you went to the firstfoster home that you were in the hospital at Vanderbilt fora littlewh ile.

P: I was in the hospital.

I: OK. And, so, that's a total of fourteen different placements. Is that about right?

P: [Long pause.] Yeah, about fourteen.

I: OK. What I want to ask you is, what's it like to have to move to all these different places? 231 P: Well, the worst part is whether you think you' re safeor not. [I got the impression that

th�s participant was tell me what he thought I wanted to hear, at this point, in response to

my explanation of the purpose of thisinterview. However, I do believe that he became

more "real'' in his responses afterwards.] [I: OK.] If you feellike, am I going to be safe

in this bed. Is someone going to try to abuse me, hurt me, or anything else. [I: OK.]

Then, it's like, just, am I going to do OK. Am I going to have to run? Hurt myself?

What am I going to do to get away frommy problems? It ain't funto move.

I: It's not funto have to move? [P: Nods no.] Whywould you run or hurtyourself?

P: To get away frommy problems. But all you need is a friendin all the places.

I: You just need a friend.

P: That knows and will help you stand up to other people if you need it. [I: OK.] That

knows what it's like.

I: OK. Can you tell me anything about whatit 's like to have to move to these different

places?

P: Well, you get fartherand farther away fromyour family(said in a sarcastic tone.)

I: OK. What's that like?

P: That's the hard part. I've got a littlebrother (can'tmake this out). That's what hurts.

Got your whole familymessed up. That'll make it hurtworse. [I felt that this participant

was being a bit melodramatic here. So I chose to move on with other questions.]

I: Anything else you can tell me about moving and having to live in all these places?

P: Not really.

I: OK. Whatare some things that make you feelsafe or unsafewhen you move to these places? 232 P: That I have a door. And, I have a lock on the shower. [I: OK.] And, bullet proof windows [pause] if you live out in the projects or something.

I: 0�. Anything else?

P: No.

I: So those things make you feel safe?

P: A lot safe. .. .· ·

I: OK. Is there anything that makes you feel unsafe when you go into these places?

P: Going out when you don't know the neighborhood. [I: OK.]_ Going to a school you don't know; what are they going to do?

I: [Pause.] Tell me more about going to a school you don't know, what they're going to do.

P: Well, there's a bunch of kids, they could mug you, take your money, stufflike that.

I: OK. Anything else?

P: No.

I: OK. If one of your peers were moving to a new placement, is there anything you could say to him · ...

P: Good luck.

I: ... or do forhim that would help him feel safer about where he was going?

P: Good luck. If you know about the place, tell them they're .going to be safeor not.

I: OK. So, if you knew aqo�t the place you could tell them about it?

P: [Nods yes.]

I: OK. If a new kid came to this placement - came into this house - is there anything you can say or do to help ... 233 P: Help him with his boundaries.

I: What do you mean by help him with his boundaries?

P: Tell them where their boundaries are, where you need to say, "Cross." What you don't need to do: touch other people's _stuff; go in other people's rooms.

I: OK So helping them with the rules.

P: Rules, routine.

I: OK [Pause.] Anything else you can think of?

P: Probably nothing else you can do? ·Hope they have a wonderful time here (said in a sarcastic tone). And, if they're not here forsomething they didn't do, _tell their case worker they want to go to fostercare.

I: OK Is foster _care a better place [P: Yeah.] than being in a group home? ·

P: Yeah, because people can leave you alone, and you can get away frompeople. [I:

OK] You can't lock the door here and say, "I'm taking five in my room." [I: OK] In fostercare, you can lock your door and it'll be like, "Oh, I'm safe.[Here again, the participant was telling me what he thought I wanted to hear.] I needed to takea five."

I: OK Why do you need to get away frompeople sometimes?

P: 'Cause they makeyou mad. [I: OK.] And you're like, "Hey, you know what? Just leave me alone." And they're like, "(Makes a sarcastic laughing sound.) Who wants to leave you alone?" And, just, makes you mad.

I: OK If you foundout you were leaving to go to a new placement, is there anything ...

P: I'd probably be mad, unless I went to a foster home or home or something.

I: You'd be mad? What would make you mad?

P; Ifl went to a lock-down. 234 I: OK. Why would that make you mad going to a lock-down?

P: 'Cause there are bigger and meaner people in there fora lot serious, more serious stuff

I: So, how would you feel about having to deal with that?

P: Not very well. [I: OK.] Then I would run.

I: OK. [Pause.] If you found out you were going somewhere, is there anything that staff could say or do to help you feel better about where you were going?

P: I don't know.

I: You don't know. OK.

P: Staffcould say a lot of things at times. Some might be true. Some might be false.

I:· OK. So you don't know whetherto _ believe them?

P: There's only a fewstaff that I do believe here. [I: OK.] Other people, they say it.

They hardly do it.

I: OK. If you just arrived at a new place, what's something that the staffcould do or say to help you feel ...

P: ·Tell me the rules, routines. Help me, um, get situated, feela' t" home. [I: OK.] Things like that.

I: What would make you feel at home?

P: Me being with somebody my age or younger, because I don't pick on people like some kids do. To me, they're human beings like you. You have the same rights as they do. [I: OK.] Maybe an extraright more. [I: OK.] Because you always have the saID;e right, so.

I: Is that something you worry about, gettingpicked on by older guys? 235 P: Yeah.

I: How does it make you feel ...

P: T�ey love to do that.

I: How does it make you feelwhen they startpicking on you?

P: Prettybad.

I: OK. [Pause.] Is there anythinggood about moving?

P: If you didn't like that place, you've got a better place to (can't make out this word), hopefully. If you.had a person that sits on their buttall day, like I have. Don't do nothing. Don't go nowhere. Goes to a drug dealer - a crack house.

I: What are you talking about, a person who sit on their buttand goes to a crack house?

P: One of my fosterparen ts.

I: Oh.

P: But I didn't say nothing. I didn't care. If she gets busted, it's her fault. [I: OK.]

(Can't make out this phrase.) She set on her butt. IfI wanted to go somewhere, I'd have to run to do it. Sometimes, I'd run. I'd go to where I wanted to go. [I: OK.] If it was to my friends house to go jet skiing, I'd do it. [I: OK.] And here, coming here, you get to go swimming. You get to go offall these places.

I: Is that a good thing?

P: That's a very good thing.

I: OK. Is there anymore good things about moving to different places?

P: No, not really.

I: No? OK. Is there anything else you cantell me about what it's like to have to move or fe eling safeor unsafe? · 236 P: No ..

I: No? OK. Thanks. 237 Interview with #199

Age: 18

Race: White

Moves: 17

Placement: Independent Living

I: The firstthing that I wantto ask you is to name forme all the different places you've lived in while you've been in care, and that can start with the very beginning and we'll just work our way ...

P: I went to the Johnson City Detention Center. [I: OK.] Then I went to the O and A,

Observation and Assessment. Then back to JCDC. [I: OK.] Then to the Elizabethton

Emergency Shelt.er. Then to East Tennessee Christian Home. [I: OK.] Then to

Woodridge. [I: OK.] Then back to the Elizabethton Emergency Shelter. [I: OK.] Then to

Wiley Center.

I: What house were you in at Wiley Center?

P: I was in Smith, Hennen, and Hardwick.

I: So, you startedout at Smith.

P: Yeah, and then I moved to Hennen. [I: OK.] And then we moved to Hardwick, when

Hardwick got done being remodeled. [I: OK.] Then I went to the group home. [I: OK.]

And then, let's see, I went home. And then I come back into State's Custody and went to a fosterhome. [I: OK.] Then another foster home. Then another fosterhome. And then to PAL. Andthen I got moved back to the group home. And then back at PAL. 238 I: So, it looks like seventeen all together. Is that about right. [P: Yeah.] Is there anything whatsoever before JCDC?

P: No.

I: So you were at home the whole time. [P: Nods yes.] OK. Seventeen different placements: The next questions that I want to ask you is, what is it like to move from one place to another? You've done that seventeen differentti mes. What's it like to have to do that?

P: Well, back'and forthat Wiley Center [houses on one small campus] and stuffwa sn't no big deal, you know, fromhouse to house, but, when I moved to the group home it was a different settingand a differentprogram. But it never really bothered me to move from place to place. The only place it really bothered me to go to was the detention center.

Then, I went to the O and A, and then back to the Elizabethton Emergency Shelter. I liked that place.

I: You like it.

P: Yeah.

I: What did you like about it?

P: Just the staffand the people in general. [I: OK.] Andthen, I wen� to the Tennessee

Christian Home, and I didn't get along there. [I: OK.] I got kickedout and then put in

Woodridge. [I: OK.] Andthen I went fromWoodridge back tothe Elizabethton Shelter, and I come to Wiley Center, to Smith. I didn't like Smith. [I: OK.] Itwas too structured.

I: Too structured? 239 P: Yeah. Hennen Cottage and stuffwas cool. [I: OK.] Boy's group home was cool. All

my fosterhomes was cool, except forthe second one.

I: �at did you not like about the second one?

P: They was, like, too strict. They didn't want you in the kitchen without them being in ·

the kitchen. It was like, you know, you wasn't part of their family. They treated you

. different. [I: OK.] And that's what I didn't like about it. [I: OK.] At PAL; I love PAL.

[I: OK.].

I: So you said you didn't like being in detention at JCDC, what didn't you like aboutit?

P: Being locked up. [I: OK.] I was scared.

I: What were you scared of?

P: 'Cause I had never been in trouble or nothing before, and I had never been in a room

locked in.

I: OK. So, that being your firstone, or you went there your first placement [P: Yeah.}

and third placement. Was it still scary after the O and A Center going back?

P: Not really.

I: No.

P: I was in it for thirtydays [I: OK.], and then I went to the O andA center for sixty-five

days. It'sjust an assessment place. And then I went back to it forthree days until they

got me into the Elizabethton Emergency Shelter.

I: OK. How do you feelwhen they tell you you're moving to a new placement?

P: You know, you kindaknow, I mean, if they're going to kick you out of a place, you know, you know beforeyou leave. So, it ain't like they spring �t on you. [I: OK.] Now at JCDC, I didn't really know I was going back to JCDC. I didn't knowI was going back 240 fromthe O and A Center. They just come and picked me up one day. [I: OK.] And took

me back there, but I was told I was going to Elizabethton Shelter in so many days. And

then, I was at the Elizabethton Shelter for like three or four months. I had been the

longest kid they ever had there. And then, [name of staff], the Case Manager there, she

_ was the residential case manager at the East Tennessee Christian Home, too. SC?, she got

me in up there. [I: OK.]

I: And you said that when you were at Wiley Center that it wasn't bad just moving from

house to house. [P: No .] Why? What made that ....? . '• P: You're still around the same people. I mean, you're not really .... I mean, at Wiley

Center, when you go outside and associate and play basketball and stuff, you meet

everybody. And then when you go to another house, you just see the same people you've

already met.

I: OK. So that's helpful?

P: Yeah.

I: OK. What about when you had to go offcampus to some of these other places like the

Boy's group home and PAL?

P: I wanted to go to the Boy's Group Home, and I visited out there, like, fiveor six times

beforeI moved over there. [I: OK.] So, I kindanew the people beforeI had to stay there.

But the fosterhomes, I met the first parents and got to choose. whether I wanted to got

there or not. You know [name of staff], she said, "We got," she was like, you know, "just

a new family. They never had a foster kid before." You know, or "We're coming to

meet you in the morning, if you like them you can go home with them. If not, we'll look

foranother place." And I liked them. Andthen the second foster home, I didn't get 241 along at the firstfoster home that well after I was there about a year. But then we started a�guing, and stuff. And I didn't getto meet the other foster parents, and they was like too strict and stuff. Yo� didn't fell like you was actually in a home; you felt like you was, like, separated fromthe other people in the house. And the third family, I got along with them good.

I: The first family, you said you had a choice [P: Yeah.] of going with them. What about the other two foster families?

P: I didn't really have a choice.

I: Did that make it different?

P: Yeah. Itki nda did, and the other thing is, I didn't meet the second parents. [I: Oh.]

I mean we met them at, we went frommy foster family and loaded all the stuffup in a truck and went and met them up here at Wiley Center in the lot and loaded all my stuffin their truck and leftwith them.

I: What's that like having to go live with a family and just meeting them when you're loading your stuffinto their vehicle?

P: I didn't li ke it. I didn 't talk to them for, like, three weeks. I didn 't say not a word to them.

I: Why did you do that?

P: 'Cause, I mean,they was just too strict, it was li ke they didn 't want to get to know you. They just wanted you to do what you was supposed to do: [I: OK.] You got up in the morning, they fixed your breakfast, they put it out on the table. They wouldn't let you go in the kitc_hen. 242 I: OK. Anything else you can tell me about what it's like to have to move fromplace to place?

P: You don't really know what to expect.

I: OK. Tell me more about that?

P: I mean, like, from Wiley Center, at Wiley Center you know what to expect. But when

I went to JCDC, I didn't know what to expect out of JCDC. I didn't know what to expect at the O and A Center. I'm just threw in a place and you have to get used to it or go with it.

I: How does that make you feel going in and not knowing what to expect?

P: I don't feel safe. [I: OK.] You just, always looking behind your back. You don't know what's going on.

I: · Sine� you brought up feelingsafe, are there things that make you feel safeor, like you were talking about, unsafeat places? Anything in particular?

P: Yeah, the people, the staffthere, you know. You can tell, like, if they actually care about working there or if they're just there fora job. I think that most of the people at the

0 and A Center were just there for a_job. Except for[name of stafl] . Now [name of staff] was at the O and A Center when I was there, [name of stafl]. [I: Yeah.] AndI knowed him before, down here. His wifeused to baby sit me when I was a baby. [I:

OK.] But, I mean, they didn't really care. They didn't even tryto get to know you or nothing.

I: So, staffactually caring about you [P: Yeah.] makes you fell better and safer.

Anything else that makes you feel safe or unsafe ... 243 P: Those fosterhomes, I mean, you're scared 'cause you're with a family you hardly ever met, and you don 't know what their routine is or nothing. But that first foster family, they just, well they was [ can't make this word out] for me. They treated me just like their kid. I mean, exactly like their kid.

I: And that made it better foryou?

P: Yeah. Yo u don 't feellike your excluded. [I: OK.] Like the firstfoster home, they had a guy, a kid they adopted fromHolston Homes and another fosterki d, and they treated them different. Yo u know, they got more stuffthan me, and everything that I got that she bought me come out of my allowance. I didn 't get an allowa�ce for like three

. . months because she bought me something and would take it out of my allowance. She would go to yard sells and buy her other two kids, you know, Play Station games and stuff, and they still got their allowance and stuff. You're like, what's different about them instead of me?

I: So that was hard feeling [P: Yeah.] lik e you were made to feeldiff erent.

[Pause.] Anything that makes you feelsafe going into a place?

P: Just in that .... I mean you can tell .... Like that first fosterfam ily, they was real, real nice people. They didn't, you know, as soon as I come down, they didn't just tell me to go to my room and unpack my stuff She come in there and helped me to unpack my stuffand showed me where everything is and introduced me to everybody. Itwas like she wanted you there. [I: OK. ]

I: Anything else you can tell me about these places you've been and ever feeling safeor unsafe?

P: [Nods no.] 244 I: OK. If one of your peers were moving to a new placement, what would you say to him or her to help that person feel safer about where they were going?

P: Tell them that it's going to be OK, and just tell them, you know, don't talk too much and just observe and see what is going on beforeyou start talking.

I: OK. Why is that important?

P: 'Cause you don't want to go in a place and just start being yourself when you don't know how people is going to react. You don't know how people behave, you know.

Like, when I come over here, I didn't really associate with people I didn't know. 'Cause

I didn't know w�9 they was, how they acted. [I: OK.] Justkinda set �ack andobserved.

I: OK. So that would be good advice forthem [P: Yeah.] to findout what was going on beforeyou interact. What if a new kid came here to PAL. · What would you say to him or her to help that person feelsafe about being here?

P: Tell them that all the staffhere care about you. You know, they try to get to know you. They do . . . [ name of staff] and them and [ name of staff] and all them do a lot for you to make sure you get what you need, andthat it's a good program. I recommend this programto anybody.

I: OK. So the staffare nice they care about you andmeet your needs. OK. If you found out that you were going to a new placement, what could the staff,do to help you feel safe?

P: At the new place or here?

I: Either or both. You can tell me about both of them. If you were leaving here, what could staffsay to you?

P: You know, they could tell you that it was going to be OK, and like they do most everybody, they throw them a partyand make you leave .... you know try to get you to 245 knowthat you're leaving on a good note. [I: OK.] Andthen when you get to the other place, then staffjus t don't, straight up, break down all the rules to you and tell you what's going on and how it's going to be and what not to do and not do this. You know, that's like, woah,_ I mean, " Don't you even want to know who ... what my name is or ... ?"

I: So its helpfulif they get to know you first [P: Yes.] a little bit? OK. You said when they start naming offall the rule and that sort of stuff, you said, kinda woah, how .does that feel to you?

P: I mean you don't knowwhat to expect after that, you know. You feellike it's a worse place than it is right offthe bat.

I: So just hitting you with the rules [P: Yeah.], is that overwhelming or· ... ?

P: I mean you're trying to ...you know, you don't know anybody here and as soon as you get in, you know, they're like "Blah, blah, blah. We do this, this, this, this, and this, and you can't do this or this happens, you know. Your like, hold on a minute like.

"What's your name? What's this place like? Introduce me to some of the people."

I: What are some.things you'd like to know about the place? You said, "What's this place like?" What are some things that are helpful for you to know?

P: Like, I ask the people at the Emergency Shelter, they was all nice.people, you know,

I'd ask th�m about themselves_ and stuff, 'cause you can tell a lot of people .... You can tell what a lot of people think about you, and stu�. by what they tell you about theirself.

[I: OK.] You know, if say your married, and they say, "Yeah, I'm married," and they don't day anything else like, like [name of stafl], I asked him if he was married when I got to Wiley Center, and was like, "No, I'm divorced, but I have three kids," and he was all up frontlike he really wanted to carryon a conversation with you. 246 I: So, getting to know people [P: Yeah.] is real helpful. OK. [Pause.] Is there anything good about moving?

P: A clean slate, kinda.

I: Really? OK. Tell me more about that, having a clean slate.

P: I mean, like, ifl mess up a lot at Wiley Center, and stuff, and got in trouble and some of the staffknew me and then when I went to the grouphome, the staffknew but they didn't really know how I acted. They didn't .... They didn't know what to expect, so they didn't judge me right off the bat.

I: OK. So each place you go to is, kind of, a clean slate [P: Yeah.] - a new start.

OK. Anything else good about moving?

P: Not really.

I: No? [Pause.] Well, is there anything else you can tell about this whole experience of moving when you're in care? Either good or bad?

P: I wouldn't recommend it if I was over some of these places. I'd try to give the kids, you know, one place to let the� get ... feel like it is an actual home instead o±:well, you're not good, kickthem out the door and send them to another place. You know, that don't help the kid at all. He don't establish nothing.

I: OK. Whydo you think it's better to stay in one place?

P: 'Cause you get to know the people and you begin to show your trueself

I: OK. Anything else at all you can tell me about this?

P: Not really.

I: This is good. I appreciate it. 247

APPENDIX E 248 Meaning Units

Interview with #7 4

• I thought that place was the most scariest place I'd ever been to.

• And th� problem is that they didn't tell me that I was coming up here. They

never told me where I was going. All they did was, like, pack up all my stuff

and, like, take me up here. [I: OK.] And the next thing I know, I found myself

on the upper end of the state.

• It's a scary experience forme, because you don't know, like, the people there

until you' r� there a month. And you start talking and warm up to them, and then

you're, like, going into new surroundings. For me it takes me a pretty long time

forme to adjust to where I am.

• Staffusually help me get, like, suited up at the place. They try to make it the

best that they can. They just talk to me and try to get to know me and stuff

• ...but like there was only one staffthat I actually trusted there, And·he talked to

me, and we sorta like had sorta like a great raport. [I: OK.] We started talking,

• and basically, and he didn't want to put me with like with all the other, like, hard

core criminals. [I: OK.] So, he put me in a cell by myself ...beca use he thought

that it would be safer. [I: O�.] And like, forthe two days that I was there, he

came in there and checked on me, like, every so many hours. I ... I just really

trusted that guy. 249 • And there was this one other staffthere, though ... we were like talking on the

basketball court, and then he said they' 11 do anything they can to keep me safe

there.

• I remember, like, when I first came in there, they kept yelling out my cell

number. And then that made me so ·scared. [Allthe other, like, inmates and

stuff.]

• ... all I did was stay quiet since they would, like, not like, continue on. Because I

was, like, curled up into a little ball scaredto death.

• I was just surprised. And then that kinda surprised me, 'cause I didn't have any

warning about it [moving].

• And I had no idea where this place was, because I've never been up on this end

of the state until then. I tried to ask them. I asked them like three or fourtimes

where I was going. And they wouldn't answer me. So, I decide that it can't be any worse than the place I w"as at at the time. So, like, .i sat back and enjoyedthe ride, and then they, like, pulled i� there. I had never heard of this place ... I had

never heard of Holston before. So they, like, drove me around the circle, and I

was wondering what all those buildings were. I just thought that they were being

plain old rude. [I: OK.] I think that I have a right to know where I'm going.

• ...my mom didn't even know that I was coming up here until they called her like

fivehours after"I 'd been up here. 'Cause she thought that I was still at

Brookhaven. 250 • What makes me feelunsafe is, a lot of, like, threats. Like threatening talk and

stufflike that. Like, most of the guys threaten you just because they play with

you.

• ...guys ... sortof play with you like that. Sort of try to be your friend, and you

know like, [can't make this out] and play basketball, and something like that.

• And then, I didn't get used to that until I was a couple months in custody.

• ...getting to know the other guys that you're with is kinda the most scariest part

than actually being where you are placed. Because you don't know them .

. . . they're kinda dangerous until you like get to know them, andstuff.

• I feel safearound staffno matter what. Because I think of them as the

Peacekeepers, and stuff. And that's what they are in places, like, keep up the

peace and stuffand keep everybody fromgoing ·at each other and stuff.

• And sortof being mentory, and stuff.

• I would say, "Don't screw up." [I: OK.] Don't screw up or make any bad

decisions, because it can knock you back down in the foodchain. Like it could

knock you down to, like, a level four. Like, you know, like, extremely locked

down ... where you can't even go out of your cell, almost.

• It's a change of scenery. . ..once you get tired of the same old place all the time

then when you move it's sortof, like, gets you, like, a new surrounding. You get

something new to look at and stuff, Instead, you get a whole new place to, like,

explore, and stuff. 251 • Holston has the same staffthat I've known for, like, the couple of years that I've

been here. So, I've had, like, I've gottento, like, know her, like, betterthan

anyone else there. . ..when I have a problem, she says come talk directly to her,

and she'll solve the problem. And, so, like, if I have a complaint or feel unsafe, I

go her, and then she usually takes care of it immediately. You can go straight to

the head person of the programinstead of going though channels, an� stuff

"Cause going through channels takes a while.

• ...it just depends on if the same guys I've known fora couple of weeks or who

was at my previous placement, then I can trust them, and stufflike that. I'm

used to them ...

• ...but any other people that I've never seen before, then I get all nervous, and

stuff

• [I: So, if you know the peers you feel' like you can trustthe m.] P: Yes. I feel

that I'm used to, like, talking to them, or chatting, and stufflike that.

• [I: If y�u had to leave a place and go to another place, is there anything that staff

can say to you that makes you feelsafer about the place your going? Or feel

better about the place you're going?] P: No. Because they don't know anything

about the programwhere I'm possibly going to or not, and they might, like, lie

about something, but they didn't mean, like, do it on purpose. They might be a

little wrong about it.

• Just knowing that I can talk to them [staft] when I need to and stuff 252 Interview with #75

• It sucks. The reason why it sucks with me is because I can't go home. I can't get

passes like some people can. [I: OK. l That's the reason why it sucks forme,

cause all I can do is stay here or stay in that placement and do what they do there.

• * ...when�ver I got here, I was good forabout a month or so. Then I started

getting in trouble. (*statement added by major professor)

• Staffhere is all up in your business, and stuff. There, they didn't take everything

as a joke. They took everything serious up there, and stufflike that. And like,

you can get away with th�ngs here, but up there, you couldn't.. You couldn't get

away with anything there. They're strict on the rules,

• ...and that taught me how to do good, and stufflike that.

• And now, here, I'm just worse than I was.

• ...because I got in a fight. So, I knew I would be going somewhere - to Juvenile

or something. I really wasn't worried about that one.

• Then, I didn't know that I was going to Juvenile after I went to Lakeshore.

• And, I didn't want to go, 'cause I didn't like it. That was the firsttime I went to

Juvenile.

• Mad. Why did I have to go to Juvenile afterI had got out of somewhere I had

served some time for, forwhatever I did.

• I was happy whenever I leftHamilton County because I didn't like it.

• Scott County wasn't that bad. I liked it up there, too, because I got along with

workers up there ... 253 • I was prettyglad to leave there, too.

• Then, I went to Jackson Academy. Whenever, I got up �here to Jackson

Academy, I didn't like it at first, and-then I started getting used to it, and stuff

• No. Because I really ain't worried about it. Itjust don't bother me, because I'm

so used it. Being ... Now, I'm used to being locked up right now, cause �t don't

bother me being locked up no more. I don't like it, but I'm used to it.

• I'd tell him, "Be good; stay out of trouble."

• Just do what they say, cause, if you don't do what they say you'll get in trouble

and stufflike that. [Pause.] Just do what they say, be honest. . If you give them

respect, they' 11 respect you back.

• I really don't know what they [stafl] would say. Just do good, and don't get in no

more trouble.

• I'd have to findout for myself. See how the other clients act, and stufflike that.

What I mean is, how they act around you, the way they talk to you, and just how

they are.

', • I had the- chance to go to the group home, and I chose not to, because, I _didn't

like the way th_e clients were over there. One of clients startedmessing with me

whenever I first stepped in there. And I didn't like it. [I: OK.] I told him to quit,

but he wouldn't, so I chose ... I told them I didn't want to go over there. · So,

that's the reason why I'm still here.

• I had almost all the staffon my side, 'cause I was there for so long. They .... If I

told them something that happen that really did happen, ·they'd believe me if 254 someone else tried to lie about it. [I: OK.] And, I liked the staffa lot up there,

and they liked me, too. [I: OK.] And, feelsafe around there ....and they would

believe me.

• They taught you how to respect people, and stufflik e that, adults and stuff.

• [I: Is there anything good about moving fromplace to place?] P: I don't think

there is. But it is probably good for, because if you move from ... if you're like

in a level three, or something like that, it's good to move to a level two, or

something. It means your working the program, and stufflike that, I guess. If

you did it right. Not the wrong way. It means that's not good_. It means you're

not improving your attitude. Itmeans you're just making it worse. It shows you

how you'll probably act when you get older.

Interview with #7 6

• Then I got disrupted and they moved me back to Holston.

• At firstit 's kinda hard because you don't know nobody, and you're not used to

the surroundings and all the different people. But after a while you kinda get used

to it afteryou meet friends [I: OK.] and get to know people.

• . . . and get used to being away from home. [I: OK.] That was my hardestthing,

being _. .. getting used to being away fromhome, because that meant that I'm

away frommy parents. [I: OK.] So that makes things a lot harder.

• . And then being moved fromplace to place, aftera while it gets hard, because

being locked up fornothi ng. You're time ain't counting. It ain't doing nothing

but make me mad. More mad at the system. 255 • It makes you not want to work the program, because you don't know when you're

going to be moved again, for no reason, or whatever.

• ...each placement I got to, they allowed a phone call when I got there to let our

parents know where we was. When I got to CCS, though, I thinkit was like two

months before I called them, because I wasn't on level to have phone calls and

stuff That was real hard. Couldn 't send mail, or nothing like that. It was hard.

Really not ·knowing if my parents we�e OK. If one of them had been hurt, if my

mama had been hurt or my brother. Well, forthe first six months, I never seen my

parents, because I didn 't want them to come and see me while � was locked up.

Because, it's hard. It 's hard enough being away from home. Then when they

come and visit you; I thought that it would make things a lot harder, because

when they leftI would want to go with them, and I wouldn 't be able to. So, I just

told them to not bother andcome see me. ... my mom called andtold me that

they was in Bull's Gap, they was on their way here. Itwas good, 'cause I was

starting to' get my home passes and stuff That made everything a lot easier. That

made me want to getout a lot more.

• The people ... you kn ow you got ... when you firstget locked up you don 't know

nobody. Un less its people fromyour home county that you've met before or

some of your friends that are locked up. And you don �t know how people are

going to act when you approach them and try to be their friend. Either you make

friends or you're by yourself the whole time you're locked up. And having

friends, that's a good thing,because you have somebody to talk to when you need 256 somebody to talk to. You won't just have to let all your anger build up and then

end up just going offfor no reason - get put in a mental hospital or something.

• After a while it gets old.

• You don't know where they're going to move you to.

• If where you're going to go to, if people are going to abuse you. Or staffor

whoever might try to molest you or whatever. ... Staffor other kids or whatever.

• [I: Did they tell you the next one you were going to be moved to] · P: No, not

really. When, I firstgot sent off, me and two of my friends got sent of together -

two of my other friends. And I asked to be moved where they .were .... so they

moved me to these other two places, just until they could get me here. And my

case worker called me the day before they moved me and told me that I was

coming to Holston, where my friends were at [I: Did it make you feel better that

your friendswere here coming here?]P: Yeah, because I was locked up with

people that I knew that were from the same type of environment that I was from.

• Then I got disrupted from there, I knew ... I had a feeling that I would get

disrupted. But I figuredthat I would go to a level three or higher because of the

things that I was doing.

• [I: OK. Was it easier foryou coming back to Holston the second time since you

had already been here once?] P: Yeah. It made everything a lot easier. When I

moved to CCS, I didn'.t even �ant to work the program. [I: OK.] And then,

when I got back here, they were telling me that that was the only way that I was

going to be able to get out, if l do work the program. So, I got_ it in my mind that I 257 was going to have to work the programto getout. So, that's what I've been

doing, and I'm about to get out.

• In a way, well, when I got sent off,I was kinda happy. In a way, that way I knew

that people on the street that I was into it with,they wouldn't be able to hurt me.

Ifl was locked up, and I was locked up and people was trying.to hurt me, that

they would always be somebody around at some point in time to stop it from

happening. I was just prettymuch fedup with the violence and stuff.

• Moving? I think that all the facilitiesare safe; all of them could be safer. It ain't

really that bad.

• This moving fromplace to place, you know, when you find out that your moving

your just wondering in your mind what's this place going to be.

• Arethey going to like me when I get there, or whatever.

• I really wasn't worried about it. It did, in a way, but in a way it didn't. I really

didn't have any problem with it.

• But I usually don't talk to people that I don't know.

• Well, I don't know. In some point in time everybody needs somebody to talk to,

so you're.not going to have no choice but to talk to somebody. [I: OK.] And,

when I ...well, at the firstthree place that I was at, it was only a fewkid s there.

So, it wast).'t really nothing major. Then I get moved to CCS, andthere is almost

close to 80 people there. So, and I had to talk to somebody. So, I started hanging

around people that was closest to my place - closest to [name of hometown] 258 where I was from. [I: OK.] Like people fromKnoxville and Chattanooga. I

startedhanging around them, talking to them, and then we became friends.

• I would ju.st tell him to keep your head up, you.know. Don't let the small things

bother you. Just do what you gotta do to get out, so you can get out.

• The main thing about here is, just don't feedinto negativity and everything will

go smooth. [I: OK.] That's the big thing at Holston- negativity. If you stay

away fromthat, then everything will go all right - you'll be fine.. ..

• get you to go offon staff, and to just, like, throwing food behind the couch.

Pouring all the foodout on the couch ....I would make people. aware of it when

they get here. Juststay away fromal l the food stuff.

• T�ey [staff] could, but, I probably wouldn't take it to heart, because, more than

likely, they had never been there. They couldn't even tell me how to handle stuff

over there if they had never been there.

• But if it were coming fromanother peer, I would take it to heart, because they had

been through the situation. [I: OK.] They could tell me how it is and what to

expect when I getthere.

• Like, the behavior fromthe other clients. Like. when you get there, what are they

going to do - how are they going to look at you. If you're going to fit in or not.

Things like that. [I: OK.] Things that moJt teenagers·are worried about.. ..

They all are looking to fit in. [I: OK.] S�, just do� basically don't do anything,

just anything to fit it.· But whatever you feelto do to fit in with the other kids, if it

fitsyou, then just do it. 259 • My whole lifeI' ve been into fights. I like to fight, and stuff So, my cousin got

sent off, and he told me, "When you get locked up, you ' re going to have to fight

regardless of if you want to or not. You're going to have no choice but to fight."

So when I moved to Holston, you know, I didn 't get into arguments with nobody,

so I'm thinking, he's just lying. It ain 't as bad as he said it was. Then I moved to

CCS, and I was fightingtlir ee or fourtimes a week. I didn't have no choice but to

fight. . ..Cause if you didn't, they would fightyou. You_ know, people would

look down on you. Like, you just let him run his mouth to you, and you didn't do

nothing about it. Aftera while, that gets old. It relieves a lot �f stress, too. It

takes things offyour mind for a while. . .. Yeah. Because you ain't supposed to

let nobody run over you. That's just how I was. I didn't let nobody run over me.

That's why I got disrupted. For fighting, and stuff.

• And staff,we had staffup there who was just smacking clients and stufflike that.

• Well, you could tell staff, though, but when staffain 't around, who is going to

tal_ce up for you? You are on your own, basically. When staffain 't around, you

either fight or get beat up.. .. If staff'saround, they ain't going to do that. Unless,

they just got problems.

• It was kinda hard, you know, just to sit there and let another peer get smacked for

no reason. But, you couldn't do nothing about it. They take staffs' word over

clients' regardless of who saw it. You just had to sit back and hope .that it didn't

happen to you.

• Itwas kinda hard, because you never know what to expect. Cause if a staffis in a

bad mood, you 're going to have differentre actions to things. 260 • Yeah. You've got to get used to being around a staff Find a staffto be buddy

buddy with. Get on their good side, so you won't have to worry about nothing

like that happening to you. They'll help you out while you're there. They'll help

you get through the program. Yeah. As a client, they' 11 keep you fromtrouble

and, you know, help you get your passes. Help you get out quicker. [I: OK.]

[Can't make this out.] ...talk to people, like talk to the case manager and let them

know that you are going good. That you don't need to be here, and all this, you

know. So, they help you out.

• [I: ... what could a staffperson do at that new placement to help you feel like it

was going to be a safeplace and things were going to be OK there?] P: Talk to

me and let me know what's going on. [I: OK.] Everybody needs to know what's

going on [can't make this out] beforethey enter a new environment. [I: OK.]

You just don't put somebody somewhere where they don't know what's going on

or what to expect, cause they could end up getting hurt. [I: OK.] If they aren't

aware of what's going on around them.

• ... just sit back and watch. [I: OK.] Take notes. Get in mind what people's

reactions is to certain things. Like, [can't make this out] curse with them, just to

see what their reaction is. And then, so that way you' 11 know not to do it, just to

piss somebody offand get them angry. Ycu know ahead of time that you don't

want to do that, and you could end up getting into a fightwith that person, if you

don't want to fightthem [can't make this out]. 261 • Well, it really, it's what you make out of it. Being locked up, you don't ever get

your way. You're not here to get your way. A lot of times, you've just got to live

with what happens. Getting mad ain't going to do nothing but make things worse.

• [I: Is there anything good about moving to new places?] P: I met, I know I met at

least over 300 new people, cause I've been locked up. And it's kinda good, you

know, you meet new people - see where they' re coming from, how they [ can't

make this out], and how they got there, and you know, when you do get out ·and

get another chance, you're gonna look back on that and say, "Well, if John got

locked up for this, then I don't want to do that." And so that h�lps out a lot, too.

• Get to travel. ...Something you'd probably never do if you were still at home. [I:

OK.] Most people don't ever, have never been out of their home county. In a

way it's good. Get out and see things.

Interview with #81

• It's prettydepressing, sometimes ....Ah .... It kinda makes you· feel ... I don't

know, like you don't know where you're going. [I: OK.] Itmakes you down and

. out.

• I knowwhen I went, when I ran fromBrown and went to the juvenile in my home

town, they didn't even tell me where I was going. They.just woke me up at four

o'clock in �he morning, told me to come on. I was in shackles, and they sent me

to Blount CountyDetenti on. I had to sleep in shackles

• ...it just ... makes your parents depressed, 'cause they don't know where you're

at. WhenI went to Peninsula and went to that fosterhome, they didn't know

where I was at fora week. [I: OK.] And I had to sneak and call from.the foster · 262 home. 'Cause I knew my Mom didn't know where I was at, or she would have

called. It makes me feel bad forthem as well as formyself

• I remember getting out of the car, and they was bars all around, and stuff. [I:

How did tp.at make you feelwhen you woke up and saw· all that?] I felt like an

animal. ...It .... I guess thinking about everybody else being able to go to the

mall, go shopping, go to the movies. Andyou had to sit there and eat liquid egg

and nasty food and ...[pa use].

• Mad ....Them moving me so much. I wanted to kill the judge. 'Cause it wasn't

even my mom's fault. It was my dad's fault. Itwa sn't my fau�t, either.

• When I was at home I had to move a lot. I was, like, in nine, ten different

schools . ...I'v e lived_in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, all over the place. [I: What

was that like having to move from place to place even with your family?] It

wasn't real bad. [I: OK.] Because I was with my family.

• No, not really. Justwho 's going to be there, or whatever. [I: Does that make you

feelsafe or unsafe, or what do you think about that?] Kinda unsafe. [I: OK.]

Not knowing who I'm going to be around.

• Well, ifI know somebody there, or something, I'll feel more safer. [I: OK.] I

don't know, I guess because I have somebody to talkto . . ..Only reason, I was

lonely. [I: OK. You're lonely, and you know somebody, and can talk to

somebody. That helps?] Yeah. Helps a lot.

• Good luck. Try and do better. 263 • [I: If a new kid came to this placement and got put in your cottage, what would

you say to him to make him feelbetter - make him feel saferabout being here.]

I don't. ...We peed in one kids shoes and were just mean to new kids. [I: How

come you're mean to new kids?] I don't know. I guess because everybody was

mean to us when we were new.

• [I: OK. You said that at other places they were mean to you? Or was it just

here?] Mostly here. Or, when I went to Freewill, I got beat up, and stufflike that.

...I didn't really get beat up. This kid was three of four years older than me. And

he said S(?mething, and I answered his questions, and he smac�ed me in the face.

So, . . . [I: How did you feelafter tha t?] Bad. [I: What made you feelba d about

getting smacked?] Just having to be around a bunch of older kids. [I: What

worried you about that?] I just didn't like ..·. I was just scared of getting beat up.

• [I: If you were leaving to go to a new placement, what could the staffhere say or

do foryou that would help you to feel safein moving to a new place.] Nothing,

really. [I: Nothing. [P: Nods no.] [I: How come?] I .... I don't know .... I just

... Ifl don't feel safe, I don't feel safe. There's nothing that will help about it.

• [I: OK. Do you usually feel safe when you move .... Ifyou find you're going to

a new place, or do you feelunsafe?] Sometimes I feel safe, sometimes I don't.

• · Well, like; places that I've already been, I feel safe.

• [I: OK. What about the other places - if you don't know where you're going,

never been there.] I don't feel safe. [I: OK. What makes you feelunsafe about

those places.] I don't know anybody there, or ..... I ain't never been there, don't

know what it's like. 264 • [I: OK. If you just arrivedat a new placement, what's things that staffcan do for

you that can make you feel safer about being there?] P: Nothing.

• [I: Is there anything that anybody can do to help you �e el safe at a new

placement?] [Can't make this out.] �y peers did, and I_ felt safer. Justtell me

that this was a good place. [I: OK.] Stufflike that. [I: All right.] Just positive

peership.

• [I: Is there anything good about moving to different places?] No.

• [I: Tell me the worst thing about all this moving stuff.] [Pause.] Worrying about

your parents .... How they're going to findyou, or, if they know where you're at.

• There is nothing that anybody can really do to make you feelbetter about moving.

[I: OK.] You just have to try to do it on your own. [I: OK.] Find out foryour

own. [I: What sortof things do you find out ...what sort of things do you look

for?] Y_ou don't really look fornothing, it just comes to you.

• [I: What is it?] When people startbeing good to you. Staff, peers. Itjust comes

to you, and you notice what people do that's good foryou. And you notice what

people are trying to help and what people aren't.

Interviewwith #82

• [I: OK. All right. So, all together it looks �ike you've been fifteen places? Is

that about right?] [Nodsye s.] In eight months.

• Most of the time, you really don't know where I'm going to go. 265 • But when I get there, most of the time the let me call. [I : OK.] But some place

hadn't let me call my mom. When I first came into custody, that foster home, in

Scottcounty, I didn't talk to her the whole time I was there. They wouldn't let

me call. ... I got mad, because, you know, I'm supposed to be able to contact my

mom once a week.

• Then, when I went back to Newport, that was closer to home, so. [I: OK.] And

they let me go home, or go spend time with my familya · lot.

• When I went there, you know, it was crazy there in Newport .... Like, there was

bugs everywhere.

• You're. never going to know when you 're going to go home. [I : OK.] Until you have a staffing.

• Then, if you get moved fromthat place then you have to have another staffing.

It's hard. You just get settled in, then you got to get all your stuffback together,

go to another place. Get used to it, and they'll move you again. It's,just, you

know, here :wego again. Like, I'11 be at one place for a month and then they' 11.

move me. And see, if I'm doing good where I'm at, I don 't see why they just

don't leave me there?

• 'Cause, if I get to talkto my mom and everything, then why don't they just leave

me there?

• I almost lost my home pass last night, because somebody was doing it [playing

with fire alarm] and they didn't know it was, so they was going to take · 266

everybody's home pass. I was just saying, if I findout, if I end up losing my

home pass, and I find out who done it, they' re going to be sorry.

• [I: OK. So, did that incidentmake you feel safe or unsafe?] P: Unsafe, because,

you know, what if there really is a fire somewhere, and you think that, well,

somebody's just playing with it; ignore it.

• That fosterhome in MorristownI' s at, I was staying in the very back room. Like,

it was behind the door. It looked like it was supposed to be a storage closet. Like

they didn't even care, you know. Like they were just in it forthe money.

• ...but then pretty soon, she was saying, "Well, you're not calling your mom no

more." . And, you know, I'd have to sneak getting out and call my mom or she

would never let me call.

• It [moving] makes me have to start my thing over. Start somewhere else.

• [Is there anything else that makes you feel safe or unsafewhen you move to these

places or you findout that you are moving to a new place?] Well, what goes

through rny head firstis , is my mom going to be able to come and see me? Am I

going to be able to call my family? That's prettymuch it.

• [I: What worrieswhen you can't contact your family?] I just makes me mad, you

know, because I don't know if they're OK. They don't know if I'm OK. [I:

OK.] Stufflike that.

• If they're going to put you and then stick you in a fosterhome and give you in

home services, why can't you do it at home? 267 • [I: If one of your peers were going to move to a new placement, what would you

say to him to help him feel better about moving or make him feel safeabout

where he was going?] Tell him to call me whenever he gets there. [I : OK. ] You,

talk to him beforehe leaves. ... I'd hang out with him and .talk to him.

• Well, dg ht now, I could say, I've been everywhere. It'snot really that bad. Most

places let you call, so.

• I've already pressed an assault charge on him because he-hit me.

• [I: OK. How does that make you feel when one of your peers in your house is

hitting on you?] P: When staffdon 't do nothing about it, actually, it don 't make

me feel safe,because if they're not going to do nothing about this, what makes me

think that they'll do something about it nexttime .

• ... 'cause I know [name of client] will go in there and he'll steal something from

me. It's just like, if l don't steal fromsomebody else, then why are they going to

steal from me?

• Really, I'd just be mad, because I've already started a new program here, and I'm

already almost ... well, I've got two -and-a-half months leftthrough it. I don't

really feel like starting over again.

• ... he picks on all of us. He picks on [name of client], he 's 13. He picks on me,

I'm 13. He picks on [name of client], he's 13. He picks on [name of client], he's

12. [I : OK.] But he don 't pick on none of the older guys.. .. I wish somebody

older than him would pick on him, then he'd know what it feels like. [I : OK.] 268 We're just sitting there, playing a game or something, and he comes up and yanks

the controls away fromme [ can't make this out].

• It would take me a while to get used t� it. Then, I'd starttalking to people. . ..I

mean, if tm in a new place I've never been and don't know nothingabout. It' s

going to take me a while to get used to it. I ain't going to tell nobody nothing

unless I have to. I don't talkto th�m. [I: OK. How come you don't talk to

people?] Well, when I firstget there, I don't because, you know, they're going to

thinkhe' s just, from the way he talks, he' s stupid or something. What they talk

about, stufflik e that.

• Most places, pretty much, if you're in a place with a lot of older guys it's not

really safe, ...they' re going to whoop you. Because, if they don't get to go home,

they're going to say, "What the heck." You know.. ..It' s just, you know, I'm in

the same place as him. What if he takesit out on me?

• Well, really, I don't like the staffup here. I mean, they don't care about us. [I:

· OK.] Like when I was up here, like, say if you're going to run, they'll say, "Go

ahead." They won't try to stopyou; they won't do nothing. [I: How does that

make you feel about them or make you think about them?] P: They don't care if

you run, what else is going to make me think that they'll stop somebody from

beating me up.

• [I: Anything good about moving to allthese places?] P: No.

• [I: Well, is there anythingelse you can say to me that helps me to understand

what it's_like to move 15 times in eight months?] P: It's not like they tell you

about it. 269

Interviewwith #86

• Then I went to [ first name of foster parent], and she was mean to me.

• Depressing.

• You don't get to stay· and make friends, because all your friends is . . . you move

from them, and, ah, and people you really care about get moved away, and ...

Moving just makes me depressed because I got to leave everything that I'm used

to. And, just, people that really care about me isn't around no more.

• And anyhow, I couldn't see my little sister, because most of this stuffis my

brothers and sisters. So, that was kind of depressing. I got pretty.. .. That's where I

think that I got most of my anger from.

• I was kind of disappointed in myself.

• I mean, I "Yasin Knox County, I was kind of disappointed at myself and my

family, because I was in there a week beforeChristmas in state care Christmas,

and only my brother and sister come visit me. My mom didn't. And my mom

never comes up to visit me, and she only came up once forfamily therapy.

• Yeah. I mean, that stuffkind of gets caught in your head. [I: What do you mean

my gets caught in your head?] Like, you don't forgethighlights of your life. And

that was one of the lowest points in my life.

• P: My baD:,ana seat bicycle (he said with a smile). [I: (Laughs).] And my big wheels. [I: You've got a smile on your face. Were those good things?] P: Yeah.

• [I: You talked about kind of being depressed.] I thought I'd never get out. And, 270 uh, so just gave up trying. Then, I thought my familywas trying to help me get

out, so I started trying again. And, I was good forthe longest time, then they

moved away and didn't call me for four months, andtheir excuse was, ah, "We

thought our rights to you was terminated." They still could of called. But the best

part about being here is people like me and, uh, my step-dad. He's the one who

keeps me in my seat and keeps me good, and he likes to take me to NA, and uh,

and likes to take me to movies and stuff I'm going to spen� the weekend with

him. [Can't make this out.] So, I'm psyched about that. And he's my ex-stepfather.

He don't even have to be around no more. But he wants to .

• [I: How's that make you feel because he's wanting to do that.] P: It makes me feel

bad, because I sort of want to go home with my parents, but I want tostay here.

Because, if I go there then I can't see my step-dad ever again, and I can't go to

NA.

• When I was in Peninsula, I was scared, because, man, there's crazy people there.

And it's like, woo. [I: What scared you about the crazy people?] Man, they come

in clucking like chickens and stuff, man, and all this. Andthey was so drugged,

man, and I was thinking that maybe they was going give me some Thorazine and

make me go to sleep, and I wasn't liking that. ...Well, I was afraid they would

hurtme.

• Yeah. And there was two staffI didn't like because they would try to make me

mad so I would stay longer. They even told me that, so that I would have to stay

longer, and I wouldn't get to come back here. They said, "That was just a test. I

don't think you're ready to go out into the world yet" [ spoken in a deep, gruff 271 voice].

• Ah ... _YES, I like that a lot. One memory sticks out. And I want to do this again. I

want to buy a Nintendo 64 and play the "Legend of Zelda. " ... T�at's my favorite

video game in the whole world. [1: OK] And-they had it.

• Going into states custody, they ain't nobody going to try to kidnap you, because

you're a blocked offperson.

• Unsafeis, there's people here with attitudes, they're bad people.

• But then there's some nice people here. People who willlook out foryou.

• Yeah. And people like to steal my video games and hide them in the woods. They

even stole my NA chips and tokens that my step-dad gave me and NA gave me,

andthey .threw them out into the woods down by the school. [I: OK.] So, every

time they get mad at me they take something of mine and throw it in the woods.

• I've got an overactive imagination, so when I'm in bed at night, I've got to have a

roommate. [1: OK] I'm not scaredof the dark. It's just, I'm scared of what's in the

dark.

• Yeah. And I'm scared of my head. My head's crazy.. ..I'll just be standing there,

man, and I'll b� hearing creepy noises, and I'll be like, monsters are going to come

get me and they're [ can't make this out] and stuffI just keep thinking about it and

I don't stop thinking about it, so.

• [I: Anything else that scares you?] Uh ... [paused.] Not knowing the right choices

to make'. '. .'.I got the choice whether to go home or whether I'm going to �tay down

here. And I just made a choice not to go to that fosterhome, so, uh, I don't know 272 ifthat was the right ch9ice or not.

• Uh. Knowing that I can just come in my room without getting hit, and stuff.

Yeah, at the house I got hit a lot.

• Yeah. Unless I do the hitting first. The kids are afraid of me, because I do most of

the hitting.

• This place is funny. . ..There's lots of funny people here. . ..They make funny

jokes.. ..And they do stupid stuffhere that's funny. [I: So, is that a good thing?]

Yeah. . .. It's a relief. [I: OK. It's a relief. A relief fromwhat?] Stress. Like, you

don't know what's going to happen next and you're on the edg� of your seat and

your stressed, and somebody comes out with a funnyjo ke or accidentally trips

and falls into a box. Like earlier, he said, andfell into a box on accident, and I sort

of laughed at that.

• [I: OK. What makes you stressed and on the edge of your seat? You said you

don't know what's going to happen next. Is there anything in particular?] Yeah. If

a whole bunch ofbad stuffshappeni ng_ at once ....It's just that the next that I hit

somebody, I'm going to MountainView [a youth detentfon center]. I got to make

the right choices. If a whole bunch of stuffstarts happening, and then I get pissed

offand hit somebody, then I'll go to Mountain View.

• [I: ...is there anything that you could say to him to make him feelbe tter or safer.

about where they're moving to?] In my opinion, not really. Because, you know,

if you're going to go somewhere bad, then there's nothing you can say to make

them feelbetter about it; they'll just be pissed off. �d try to make them laugh

andforget about it. 273 • If they're going somewhere good, and they're really not sure about it, you can go,

"It's going to be all right, and stuff, you know, these people are going to take care

of you, and it's better than here." And that always gets them.

• Yeah. I can just tell them the rules and help keep them out of trouble. [I: OK.]

Like I always do.

• Yeah. Unless when a new kids gets ·cockyand tries to jump up in my face. [I:

What happens then?] Then I've got to show them who's boss. I've got to put them

in their place, because they're a new kid, and they don't need to thinkthat they're

bigger and better than everybody, because, I know I'm not bigger and better than

everybody. And if I can show them that I'm bigger and better than them, then that

makes them fe el small.

• It depends on where I'm going ....If I'm going somewhere bad, I'm probably

going to run. . .. Yeah. That's just about what everybody does.

• If I'm going somewhere good, I'm ... I don't worry about. I won't need nobody to

tell me it �ill be all right, because, ifI'm going somewhere good, I'll know it, and

I'll want to go.

• [I: What makes the places good or bad?] P: Uh, the people, and uh, the level, and

how you're treated. Like, being locked up twenty-four/seven, just about, in a

room is not a good place. [I: OK.] _Being in a padded room is not a good place.

• Being in "'nice fosterhome with people who care, that's a good place.

• ... he [staff] joked around with us and made us happy, ·

• [I: Has there been anything g

around anywhere. We've been to Wal Mart about a hundred times, up there in

Johnson City, and I don't even know my way there. [I: OK] I didn't even

remember my way to my house when we went on a home pass. Stufflike that.

Because you see so many things that look alike.

• Well, when you move, the firstthing is, fear.Like, you're afraid of what's going to

happen, _':'7ho you're going to meet next, and that person could be you're new best friendfor your whole life or be your new worst enemy forthe rest of your life, or

they could just be a part of your lifefor just a small time.

• Me, mysel:t: I've never seen somebody die, and I don't want to. And, uh, ... I hear

a lot of people with depressing stories about how people died when they moved.

Like, some, I know depend on me, because they say that if I move, then they'll

commit suicide and that kind of depresses me a lot, and makes me scared

• I got a girlfriend, man, and she's like, "Don't move."· Because, I can't stop it. And

then you've got to end the relationshiplike that, too.

• But afteryou move, you can either like it and make the best of it or not like it and

make the worst of it and get in trouble all the time, and get sent somewhere bad,

worse. It'sreally what you make of it. Like, I was in Knox County and I didn't

think that it was all that bad, and I was locl:ed up twenty-threehours a day. I got

watch TV. I got to sleep. I got to do whatever I wanted, as long as I was in my

room. See, I made it out to be a good place.

• Over Christmas is the most depressing time being in a home, because you're away

fromyou're family, and uh ... But if you're like me and never had a really good, it's 275 not all that bad. But when your familydon't come to visit you, then it makes you

want to hurt yourself ...Yeah. When your familydon't put forthno effort. You're

like, "It ain't working no more." You wantto hurt yourself or somebody else. A

lot of pent up anger, and you like to beat people up, or try to.

• The depression that followswhen moving and being in custody, it kind of makes

you want to do drugs. That's when I started doing drugs, and I thought it would

make me feel better. ... Yeah. Then afterI went to N� it tried to make me not

want to even do the drugs that the doctor gave me formy depression, and uh, and

it kind of makes you feelbad that you did it, and it brings on more depression.

Interview with #87

• It'smess ,�d up. Confusing. It's .... You get used to one, or, you get used to one

place and you get moved again. It's weird.

• I got there and they told me that I was going back to Holston, and they lied to me,

and I got there, and I was very disappointed, because they sent me back here.

And,it 's, like, it's very confusingto get sent different places. It's upsetting, that

you get sent to so many different places. It's hard. Yeah. They lied to me and

sent me here .... I didn't like it. Itm ade me mad.

• It's just hard; it's hard on people. It'shard on the kids here that are moving, and,

but, we don't know nothing that's going on, because th� staffd� n't really tell us

much when we get moved. One stafftells you one thing ·and another stafftells 276 another one. The staff really don't knowmu ch around here. It's the higher staff

that knowthe stuffaround here, and it's hard when you get moved.

• Yeah, they sort of told me. I wasn't forsure of it when I firstcame into Holston

for assessment; I wasn't forsure if I was going to stay here. I wanted to stay

here, 'cause , in a way, I didn't really want to stay here because it was so far away

fromhome.

• Andthen in a way I did, because it seemed like it was going to be .... I liked the

programc;ind the staffwhen I first got here with [name of staff]. [I: Uhhu h.] Me

and him, he worked with me real good, and, uh, I got along with [name of staff]

OK, and he tried to work with me, and stuff. And ... that ... I wanted to work the

programhere when I firstgot here. [I: Uh huh.] And, I wanted to work the

program when I firstgot here.

• And, I've been here a year and four months, now, in State's Custody, and my

parents have to do all this stuffbefore I can go home, and I'm getting to the point

where I'm not wanting to work the program anymore. And I'm tired of having to

do that ... put the effortforth on my part to where I'm tired of having to do all the

work and my parents not doing their stuffto where I can go home. I don't see ....

I've tried.fosterhomes, and it didn't work out. [I: OK.] And, I don't wantto go

to group homes or I don't want to get adopted, and my· DCS worker wants me to

go to a, like, an independent living, and I don't want to do that yet. [I: No?]

Because, I'm fixingto be seventeen, and she said that I could go to that, but I

don't want to do that yet.... I just don't want to do that. I want to tryto return

home. 277 • P: It'sbeen really hard on me here, to [can't make this word out] with this stuff

• [I: When you get to a placement is there anything that makes you feel safe or .

unsafe, when you get there?] P: Not really. I went to one placement, and I didn't

feelright, because I had a problem when I was in a fosterhome. [I: Uhhuh .] I

got caught huffinggas ..... That, uh, I feel like I was going to relapse in NA, with

the gas cans everywhere. They just told me to go away, to go isolate myself in

the house. And I said, "How, when everywhere I like there is someone bothering

me and everywhere I go there is a gas can." And they still wouldn't come get me,

and they made me stay there. And I feltunsafe, and I feltwroi:ig with the gas cans

everywhere. And they made me stay there foranother two days. And there was

like gas cans everywhere, everywhere I looked.

• And I called my fostermom, and I was like, I wasn't getting along with foster

kids and the parents didn't like me forsome reason. And called her up was like,

"[Name of foster parent], can you come get me?" She was doing something, and

she wouldn't come get me, and I kept getting in arguments and wasn't getting

along with the fosterparents. And, uh, the daughterof the fostermom told me

she would smack me ifl did something again, in my face. And I told the foster

mom and my DCS worker, or my case manager that in th� Knoxville office, and

they wouldn't get me, come get me. And I told them that, that I felt unsafe, and

that I didn't feelright there.

• The fostermom was being rude. She told me to kiss her butt, or something. She

said .... An,dI said something to her, I was being rudeb�ck to her, and she said,

"I'll just tummy head, and I don't have to hit, I'll just tum my head and let one of 278 my sons or my daughter get a hold of you." And she threatened me with one of

her kids. And she was .... And I feltunsafe because she was threatening me with

her kids, and stuff. She said she would have her older daughter smack me. [I: I

see.] And her daughter said she would smack me. [I: OK.] And her sons

threatened me, too. And I told the foster, or my DCS, or my case manager that

that was in Holston. [I: Uh huh.] I called her, and called my fostermom, and she

would never come get me. . . . It made me upset. They told me if .... My foster

mom told me if I feltuncomforta ble anywhere, they'd come get me. And when I

told her that, she said, "Oh, when I was at home, I told you I'd come get you." It

should be the same way anywhere. If I feeluncomf ortable, they should come get

you.

• Usually, when someone goes to a new placements, if they say that they're going

to run, we tryto talk to them not to. And we talk them down. We tell them it's

not worth it, and stufflike that.

• · [I: Why do they threaten to run?] Because the either think that it's going to be

worse or sometime they won't run, or sometime they think it's going to be a Level 3 or Level 4 or something like that, and want- to run, or sqmething like that. • [I: ...what would you say to him to make him feel safer about being in Smith

house?] P: "How you doing?" "Um, welc()me to Smith," I guess . ... Yeah. We ' . usually have a group, and we introduce ourselves. [Name of staff] makes us, or

not makesus, we just have a group. We just all say our name and how old we are

· and what level we're on, and stuff. ...Yeah, so they can learnour name and what 279 phase we're on. He gives them peer buddies [can't make this out] and they get

with their peer buddies so that they can learnthe rules, 3.11-d stuff

• Probably let me go talk to [ name of staffmentioned at the beginning of the

interview] about it, if he was here.

• P: If there's, like people, a bunch of people there, introduce me to the people.

Welcome me in, I guess.

• [I: OK. Anything else that would help me?] P: Um ... explain the rules and stuff

to me. [I: How do the rules, understanding the rules, help you to feel safe?] In

case I'm going something wrong or something, so I'm staying _safe. That way I

know I'm doing something, or what I'm supposed to do. Or if there is some

people doing stuffunsafe, I know what I'm doing is right, or just tell someone.

That way, I'll be safe.

• [I: OK. Good. Is there anything good about moving to all these different

places?] P·: Some there is, yeah. When you get to go home or go to a foster

home to get away fromhere. . .. Or a group home or something like that .... You

get more freedom. You get to go to public school or something. You get to

spend time with your friendsoutside of here. You get to see your familymore, I

guess.

• One thing ·about the move out here is that it�s so faraway from your family. I live

a hundred .... A round trip for me, a round trip is 239 miles. So, I don't get to see

.... I haven't had one visit since I've been in State's Custody, besides one, when I

was in foster care, and that was when I was in the hospital, when I had surgery. . AndI ain't had one visit since I've been in Holston. And I've been in Holston 280 months, fornine months, and this time forfour months, and I ain't had a visit up

here once. So, it's been real hard seeing all the other kidshaving visits and then

never having a:visit. To move. Move placements way up here.

Interview with # 8 8

• It's kinda weird. Can'treally get comfortable at any places like that moving so

much.

• But it really depends, 'cause it helps you sometimes to move. [I: OK.] Like if

you step down or step up or something. [I: OK. So, if you step down it helps?]

Yeah, it meets your needs more.

• Like, you miss the other place that you were at. You, just are used to all these

other's rules, and stuff,

• ...and then when they move you, it's a whole new story. It'slike, basically,

you're a slave. You got no say-so in it. And then they're just going to move you

again afterthat. [I: OK.] Basically, you're just there.

• Like, how I was comfortable there and how I had already learned all the rules

there, and how I knew what to do there and knew what they expected of me. I

just feltlike I was comfortable staying there.

• [I: OK. You_used and interesting word; you said you're kinda like a slave at a

place. What do you mean by that?] Like, when you move to a new place, they

just tell you what to do. When you don't know what to do, so you just do

whatever they say to do, 'cause you don't want to get in trouble. [I: OK.] And 281 then when you do get in trouble, you getmadder because you don't know what to

do. [I: OK.] They don't really make it clear to you what to do anyway when

they firstassess you in anyof them ....I don't think they do their job enough, like

making things clear when they first ... when a kid is firstassessed in any new

placement. I think they expect you to learn offthe other kids.

• [I: OK. What do you thinkthey could do better, instead of having to learn offthe

other kids?] P: Let you know everything when you firstcome in.

• [I: OK. What do you think would be the best way to do that?] Mmrn.... . Maybe

the others [youth] could explain all the s�eps and the rules and _everything else that

needed to be gone over with you.

• I don't know. Like, some people worry, 'cause they don't know what they about

to go into ....I don't know [laughs]. Probably worry, like, who's all going to be

over here and is there anybody I know or .... I wonder if the staffare going to

treat me different over here . ., . • [I: You said, some people wonder if they're going to know anybody. Does that

help - to get to a placement and you know somebody?] You can feela little bit

more comfortable,be cause that person can.help you learnthings faster.

• [I: What do people worry about how people are going to treat them?] Whether or

not if there is racist staffor if there is staffthat just come in with a bad day

everyday, or if there's staffth at's happy and staffthat like to do things for the

kids - like to go out of their way, a little bit, in their job to do things forthe kids . .

Or if there's j1:1ststaff that's just there because they have to be there to make their

money. 282 • I guess i� would make me feel safe if somebody welcomes me there. Like, how

everybody has a group, sometimes, forthe new kids there, and says, "Hey," and

their name, and all that stuff. [I: OK.] And let somebody show them where their

room is and stufflike that.

• Just say like you're going to a placement where they won't meet your needs.

Like, if you're a level two kid and they send you to a lev�l three placement, or

something, just to test you to see if that's where you need to be, you could feel

·unsafe.

• .Like, I don't want stricter rules, because I'm a level two �d. [I: OK.] And, I

don't want to be around a whole bunch of level three kids that's just running

around crazy and stuff, 'cause I'm not like that. Like, doing level three things.

They do level three things. (Laughs.) They disrespect the staff, and disrespect

everybody, and some of them try to do good, I guess. Some of them really

shouldn't be level three material. But the ones who are just don't care. They

kinda like it there, I guess, so they want to stay there. [I: OK.] So, they're going

to pull anybody else into it that they can. I really didn't need level two. My

therapist told me I really didn't need level two. 'Cause when I_went to Hennen,

everybody was just cussing and throwing things and flippingTV' s over and stuff

and throwing apples at the staff So, I was just sitting back, and stuff, not getting

in trouble. They said that I needed to be in level one. So, they hurried up and

moved me over here.

• It makes you feelunsafe if you come in the firstday you get there and the staff

that's there is just there fortheir job, like we were talking about before. If there's 283 one of those kind ofstaff there, their just like, "Here's your stuff. Yeah. You go

there. Blah, blah. Blah, blah." And you don't realiy see them for the rest of the

day, or whatever, and then they come back the next week and talk, whatever. It

just doesn't seem like anything's going with them. 'Cause anything you do half

way out of the rules, you get in trouble for, so ...

• I would tell them just to go down there with a good attitude. Don't go in there

thinking that it's going to be what it's not going to be. It's going to be whatever

you make out of it. ... It's going to be good if you go in with a good attitude and

accept it forwhatever it is and try to make it a good experience.

• Usually, everybody that leaves fromhere and goes to other places, they don't

want to leave ... .I don't know. I guess they got too attached to stuffhere and the

rules and everything. Nobody really liked it when they first came over here,

'cause they were attachedto the Wiley Center's rulesand everything.

• I'd help him know what reallygoes on here, and stuff, artdwhat they expect, from

the staff, and what they expect from the clients.

• [I: If you were going to a new placement is there anything that staffcan say to

you to help you fell better of feel safer about where you were going?] [Pause.] I

don't really think so. [I: OK. Why not?] 'Cause I don't think that staffhas ever

told me anything moving to a new placement that, like, made me feelbetter about

going there.

• I can't think of anything other than making you feelwelcome.

• [I: Is there anything good about moving?] P: Sometimes you get away fromstuff

that was kindaholding you down. [I: OK.] Like, if you're having a problem 284 with a staffhere, or something, or at Wiley, and you just got tired of it, or there

wasn't nothing happening foryou and then they moved you, probably it could

help you. P: You feel like you've got a chance to startover, too, fromwhere you

were at.

• [I: OK. Anythingelse good about moving? [Pause.] You could kinda already

knowwhat to expect before you go there.

• [I: You went back to Blount County,probably three or fourtimes. Did it ever get

any easier to go back there, or was it about the same each time you went back.] It

was about the same each time. Blount County is prettyrough ..

• [I: OK. What about when you got at Holston, because you were at Brown and

then m�v�d to Hennen and then the Boy's Group Home. Was that easier or

harder because you were at the same agency?] P: I think that it was a little bit

easier ...

• AndI thoughtI learned all those rules and felt comfortable, and it was kinda a

relief going to Hennen, 'cause they had lesser rules [I: OK.] and a lot more

privileges. . ..It was supposed to be a relief, and a lot more privileges and lesser

rules, but there's not really.

· Interview with #89

• [I: OK. What's it like �o have to move from one place to another? Like, moving

to Lakeshore, and moving to Haslam, and moving to Holston Home?] It sucks.

[I: What sucks about it?] I don't know. I mean, I, I ha� .... I don't know,I was,

like, starting to have a prettygood relationship with the therapist at Haslam. [I: 285 Tell me about the relationship you were making with your therapist at Haslam and

having to leave that. What was that like foryou?] Itpissed me off. [I: OK.] I

don't really know what else to tell you. [I: OK.] Itjust pissed me off.

• ...plus this is like a hundred and something miles away frommy .family, and stuff.

[I: OK.] I don't like that. [I: What's that like being so faraway fromthem?]

Hate it, 'cause I love my parents [I: OK.] ... a whole lot.- So. . . [I: What's the

hardest part about having to be away fromthem?] [Pause.] Not getting any home

passes fora long t1me.

• [I: Anything else you can tell me about what it's like to have tp move between

placements?] [Pause.] Yeah. Um, when .... like, from what the State's doing,

we have no control over it. [I: OK.] We have no say-so. [I: OK.] It pisses me

off. ...!hat, uh, that they don't even know the placement people, you know. [I:

OK.] They just place us wherever. They just like say, "Hey, you're going here."

And we don't even know why or why not.

• I'm just, I'm uncomfortable at any placement. I donlt know. I get a weird vibe

every time I go to a new place.

• [I: OK. If one of your peers in Smith House were moving to a new placement is

there anything you could say or do for him to help him feelsafe about where he

was going?] Yeah. "Good luck, and don't fuckup." [I: OK. What do you mean

by don't fuckup?] Keep your head on straight and don't get into trouble.

• [I: If a new kid came here to Smith House, is there anything you could say to him

to make him feel safe about being in Smith] No. [I: Why not?] Itsucks there. If

I told him it would be all right, then I'd be lying.

-� .• 286 • [I: OK. Let's say you just arrived at a new placement, :Vhatcould the· staffthe do

foryou the first day to you as soon as you walked in to make you feelsafe?

[Pause.] At the end of the firstday or at the end of the firstweek?] I don't know.

Say, "It ain't so bad here," or something.

• Tell me my privileges.

• [I: OK. Is there anything good about moving to all these different places?]

Well, if it's like, say, a level two fosterhome or something or level one. That'd

be good. Definitelygood. [I: OK. So, a fosterhome is going to be better than a

residential ...] A group home. [I: A grouphome. [P: Yeah.] OK. What's

better about a foster home?] I don't know. I just heard that it's way better. [I:

OK .] You can go to public school most of the time. [I:1 -OK.] And, uh, and you,

like, you can talk on the phone a whole lot more. [I: OK.] We only get five

minutes fora phone call a day. [I: OK.] So, that's pretty straight, I've heard.

• Yeah. It was good to move from Lakeshore to Haslam. [I: What was good about·

that?] Lakeshore was weird. Itwas freaky(laughs). [I: Yeah? What was weird

and freaky about it?] Some of these crazy people. [I: OK. How did it make you

feel being around those crazy people?] I was starting to �at I was really crazy. I

was like, "Am I really crazy?," and all that.

• [I: For most kids that live at places like this - at Haslam and Lakeshore � what's

the number one thing staffcan do forthem to help to feel that they're safe - that

they're OK?] Try to actuallyhelp them out. [I: OK. What do meant by help

them out? Give me some examples.] They're heartless (smirks.) ... They don't

care about nobody. [I: OK.] Like, ah, this one dude he was laying on the ground 287 crying, and, ah, a guy at Haslam, he wouldn't let go of his neck. So, I mean it

was right here or whatever (placed his hand at the base of his neck near his

shoulder), andhe wouldn't let him go.. ..I thought that was sick.

Interviewwith #92

• It'sstressful not knowingexactly what to expect at your nextplace or wherever

you're going to live.

• There's like, I mean if you go to the residential, in-house kinda deal, you're, like,

not knowing how you're staff'sgoing to react to you or, you �ow, it's, like,

you're peers - if they're going to like you or not; how much of their crap you're

having to put up with.

• That's like .... I don't know, not knowing, basically, how the program's going to

be run. [I: OK.] I mean, it could be run real easy to almost, like, jail and it not

being jail.

• Uh, mainly, it's, like, if you're new, they [kids] just up and attack you if they

don't like they way you look or anything [I: OK.] or the way you talk, or stuff....

This petty stuff, like, ... .it's just when you get in there you've got the fear-

who's going to hit you andwhen they're going to hit, and could it be frombehind

or in frontof you or what ..

• [I: Has that ever happened to you in some of these places?] Ah, it's happened to

a bunch of people there. [I: OK.] Fortunately, I've been big enough and scary

enough that they wouldn't mess with me. 288 • It's like some staffwant to treat you like you're their best friend, and then some,

will just . , .. They don't really care. They don't care, you know, about the kids

there. They don't care about anything but getting a pay-check. I mean, like, as

long as they're getting their pay check, they're going to do what they want to with

you, and you can't do nothingabout it, 'cause it's always staff's word against ours

when we filegrievances, and stuff Half the time, they believe staff There's not

any, like, physical proof

• Just being away from family, not knowing when you're going to see them again .

. . . It's, I don't know, it's just, with, like, passes and stuff It'slike, if you don't.. .

if your parents are going to be able come up there and get you, or if you're not

going to get passes at all, or if the, the ah ....your, ah, placement will work out a

way to take you down there or meet them half way or something. You just don't

know, exactly, what's going to go up with that.

• [I: When you find out you're moving or you get to a new placement, is there

anything that makes you feel either safe or unsafe?] It .... The first staffmember

that I meet. If they're, like, really nice and, like, and you know,"My name is,"

and then they'll, like, have some of the other staffcome in, and, you know, you'll

end up being introduced to them. I mean, you can tell half the time whether or not you're going to like them or not [I: O:�.J 'cause?f how friendly t�ey are.

Andif, you know, if they are busy or not and real hatefulwith you. If they' 11

come up to you and tell them that they didn't mean to be that way to you, or

whatever. 289 • [I: OK. Anything that makes you feel unsafe?] Uh .... No, not really. I've

pretty much grown up in a really rough neighborhood, so ... I mean, I, I can . ·

pretty much watch my back. . . . . I go in and I'm, I'm. most of the time

comfortable with it. [I: OK.] 'Cause I've been around .... I've been pushed

around so much aroundDCS, and stuff, it' s prettymuch, come to be, come to be

my life. [I: OK.] I'm used to it.

• Nah. Most people just go and, you know, they can't sleep forthe firstnight or

two 'cause they don't know what's going to happen. [I: OK.]

• They have to get used to it

• [I: If one of your peers were going to move to a new placement what would you

say to himwhen he was leaving to help him feelthat he was going to be safe or

OK?] Uh, mainly, just ask him a bunch of questions on how it was run? [I: OK.]

• And, try to get in good with some of the staffmembers, where they'll, like,

believe you if something, like, actually is going on. They don't lie on some of the

people.

• • [I: ...any thing that you can say to him to help him feel safer about being here in

Smith house?] I'd just go up and introduce myself. I mean its, prettymuch not

what you think with most people. Itmay be in some cases, but [I: OK.], it's like,

it may be, you kn�w, whether or not they lI�e being around many people or [I:

OK.] people they don't know. I mean, I just go up there andtry to make myself

seem as fiiendlyas possible. [I: OK. So, be friendly, you think,just helps them

to feel. ..] It makes you relax more. 290 . • Uh .... I am really getting ready to go to, hopefully go to PAL (Preparationfor

Adult Living). [I: OK.] But, its .... They took me up there today, and, I didn't

exactly e�pect the kind of people up there that worked there. You know, I mean,

they were real nice. [I: OK.] I really don't worry or anything. [I: You just don't

worry?] I do a little bit, but not to the extent where I totally freakout . [I: OK.

Was it helpful foryou to go over and see the place?] Yeah. It was a whole lot

more helpful, 'cause I was just trying to imagine it on my own, and imagine how

staffwere, how the place was run. And when I went up there, they gave, you

know,jus t a little tour of, like, where the stafflives. I talked t� the staff. I was

like . . . Staffwere real nice. They gave me, like, a packet, and stuff, with the

rules and expectations. They gave me the low down on the level system up there.

And it made me feel a whole lot more comfortable, because I knewwhat I was

coming irtto. [I: OK. Does knowing the rules and expectations help?] Yeah. I

mean, if at all possi�le, that would �e, li�e, the biggest thing that anybody could

do for so�ebody leaving to a differentplace.

• [I: ...wha t's something the staffcould do right offthe bat to make you feel safe?]

I'd say, introduce me to, like, the kids and the rest of the staff [I: OK.] That

way, you know, I could s�e how friendlythey are towards me th� first day. An�, like, so want to see if gradually, you know, if they get used to having a new kid or

whatnot, and then, if they don't, then I'd knowexactly who I don't fe el safe

around, and, you know, who I do. I mean, you could meet somebody that'd be

having a �ad day and be, like, your best friendthe next. ·· [I: OK.] So, it just. .. 291 Within the twenty-fourhour, forty-eight hour difference of just being around

them, you can tell.

• [I: What's the number one thing you worry about?] Mainly the rules and

expectations and how hard they enforce their consequences, and stuff.

• [I: Is there anything good about moving?] I mean, sometimes you get closer to

see your family: And there's like other times that, you �ow, you might be

having a hard time dealing with your family. At that point, when you get to move

somewhere else, I mean, it's sort of relieving, and then, you know, it could be,

like, sort of, ah, stressfulbecause you 're away fromyour family and you're not

wanting to be away from them.- It could go either way .... If it's rocky, you don't

want... I don't want to see my familyif it's, like, really, really rocky. I don't

even want contact with them.

• [I: UK. Anything else good about moving?] You get to see more of the state.

Yeah, and differentways to different places. . ..It prett y much teaches me ways to

go on the interstate. That way I know how to take a trip when I get out.

• Nah, that's basically it. I mean, mainly, it's, like, the first experience of people

with, like ... I usually get some .... What gets me is, like� the firsttwe nty-four

hours; you can usually tell.

• [I : Earlier, you had talked about being, kinda big and scary looking, and I �sked

you if that helps, and you said, "Yeah." I just want you to tell me more about

that.] It sorta keeps the kids that mainly try to run the place away from you a little

more than it did the rest of them, because they don 't know what you're capable of

or what you would do to them if they did something to you. Itthey, like, hit you, 292 would you go psychotic on them or like stab them or something. You know,

something crazy like that. I mean, it pretty much keeps them away from you. I

·mean, u�til you, like, go up to them. But if they want to test you, they're going to

test you. You h�ve to prove what you try to be or act like.

• No, not really. I just walk in and, well, I'll pretty much be silent, like, forthe

first, like, a couple hours that I'm there. [I: OK.] I pretty much check everything

out, so, that's about it. ...I just watch what everybody does and see who's cool

and who isn't, you know, who's afraid of who, 'cause that sortahelps out a lot

when it comes to, like, you know, sorta being neutral in the w�ole game of things.

[I: OK.] That's what you want to be. You don't want to be on one side, always

causing the trouble. And· you don't want to be on the other side, be a goody two

shoes, getting picked on. [I: OK. ] You want to sorta stand up for, like, morals

and values, I guess.

Interview with #93

• If you feel like, am I going to be safe in this bed. Is someone going to try to abuse

me, hurt me, or anything else. [I: OK.] Then, it's like, just, am I going to do

OK? Am I going to have to run? Hurt myself? What am I going to do to get

away frommy problems? It ain't funto move. [I: Why would you run or hurt

yourself?] To get away frommy problems.

• But all you need is a friendin all the places. . ..That knows and will help YC?U

stand up tQ.other people if you need it. [I: OK.] That knowswhat it's like. 293 • Well, you get farther and fartheraway from your family (said in a sarcastictone. )

... That's the hard part. I've got a little brother (can't make this out). That's what

hurts. Got your whole family messed up. That'll make it hurt worse. [I felt that

this participant was being a bit melodramatic here. So I chose to move on with